Scales
by Spunky0ne
Summary: Stricken by an odd hollow, Byakuya and Orochi's souls are inexplicably bound. Forced to wed, they must learn to live with each other. But managing a slippery, dark-hearted snake won't be easy. Still, there are secrets about Orochi that no one knows, and Byakuya will be the first to see beneath the surface of those wicked obsidian eyes...Bya/Orochi, Kurushimi/Tetsuya, Ichigo/Renji
1. Sand

**Scales**

 **By Spunky0ne**

 **(Requested by AvellaAria)**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **(After being stricken by a strange hollow, Byakuya and Orochi's souls are inexplicably bound together. Forced to wed, the two must find a way to live with each other. But living with a slippery, dark hearted little snake won't be easy. Still, there are secrets about Orochi that no one has ever explored, and Byakuya will be the first to see beneath the surface of those wicked obsidian eyes...Bya/Orochi/Bya, Shima-taicho31's Kurushimi/Tetsuya, Ichigo/Renji)**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **Chapter 1: Sand**

"Shima taichou!" called out a messenger as he flash stepped through the front gates of Shima adobe and found the Shima clan leader standing in the corral, beside his sister, and both in the presence of a huge silver Andalusian stallion, "Sir, I have an urgent message from Kyouraku soutaichou."

Kurushimi exchanged glances with his sister and nodded.

"Give us your message, soldier."

"Sir, word has reached us that a diplomatic mission to the new palace in Hueco Mundo being led by Kuchiki Byakuya has fallen under attack! The captain commander reports that the reiatsu of all in the group appears to have suddenly disappeared!"

"And who was in the group besides Byakurai?" Kuri asked, frowning in concern.

"There were two delegates, Kuchiki Byakuya, Elder Kuchiki Isas, their personal bodyguards and six house guards. Kyouraku soutaichou has asked for you to lead a rescue unit into the area, but you must exercise extreme caution, as whatever attacked the delegation was horribly powerful!"

"Very well," Kuri answered, glancing at his sister, "Take a message back to the captain commander that we are leaving immediately and will report back to him as soon as we find anything at all."

"Hai, Shima taichou!"

"I will bring Ogano to help with healing," Aderia decided.

Kuri frowned uncertainly.

"Deripie, are you sure you want to risk your new husband on such a mission?"

"Ogano is a very talented healer," his sister insisted, "He is not formally trained for healing or fighting, but I am a taichou and I have been instructing him personally. He has tremendous potential, and he is here and ready to leave."

Kuri's frown deepened as flickers of memory of his own spouse's untimely death gnawed at him. But given that Aderia's argument made sense, he realized quickly that she was right to bring the young man along.

 _There may be multiple victims, and they could have injuries from fighting the hollows. Oga-nii has experience with hollows from his upbringing in the Rukongai. I suppose he is a good choice...I just don't want Deripie to lose her happiness. I don't want her to know the devastation that causes._

"All right," he said solemnly, "I agree he is the best choice, as we need to leave quickly. Ichi-bun and Ren-ren-nii are here visiting, so we will bring them along as well. Both of them will be concerned for Byakurai too. Please go and find Oga-nii while I gather the others."

The two siblings parted and Kuri hurried into the dining room, where Renji and Ichigo sat at a table covered with large serving plates heaped with spicy meats, seared vegtables, freshly made cheese and warm tortillas.

"You're here just in time, _mijo_ ," Magdelina greeted him, "We are just about to say grace."

"My apologies, _Mamà_ ," Kuri said penitently, "Deripie and I have been ordered to take a rescue mission into Hueco Mundo. Ichi-bun, Ren-Ren-nii, you must come with us as well. Byakurai's delegation to the new palace has fallen under attack and their reiatsu has disappeared."

"That's terrible!" Magdelina exclaimed, paling.

"Is Taichou hurt, do you think?" Renji asked, looking alarmed.

"I think if he was able, he would have reported in," Kuri said darkly.

"Then, we shouldn't waste any time," Ichigo said, standing, " _Gracias, Tìa Magdelina_."

"Be careful, all of you," Magdelina said worriedly.

"We will be fine, _Mamà_ ," Kuri assured her as the three hurried out of the dining room.

Kuri led Ichigo and Renji to the stables, where he climbed onto Ambrosio's back and Ichigo climbed up behind him. Aderia arrived a few moments later on a tall palomino, with her husband seated behind her with his arms around her waist. Kuri glanced down at Renji.

"Isn't your horse here, Ren-ren-nii?" he asked.

"Yeah," Renji sighed, rolling his eyes, "But do we have to take that idiot? He'll probably get me lost and eaten by hollows! Yakkaigoto's that stupid."

"Oh, I'm sure he just needs a little training, right?" Kuri said, smirking as the huge, zebra striped red stallion thundered up to Renji and stopped just in front of him.

"Ow, you nitwit!" Renji yelled, "You're on my foot! Get off!"

Yakkaigoto observed him quietly and slowly lifted his offending hoof.

"Do it again, you steaming little horse pie," Renji snapped as he launched himself onto the horse's back, "I'll sell you for horsemeat..."

The group proceeded swiftly along a trail that led them past Kuchiki Manor and on to the central Seireitei, where they entered the precipice world and continued on to Urahara Kisuke's shop. The shopkeeper led them quickly to where he had a garganta already prepared, and sent them through the dark cavern and into the black sands of the hollow world.

"We are headed towards the last known coordinates of the group," Kuri informed the others, "They were on a path heading towards the palace, but were still about an hour away from it. I don't know if they will be at the site or if they might have just lost contact and moved on to somewhere else."

Ichigo and Renji exchanged worried glances.

"I think Taichou would have stayed in the area until communications were restored," he said softly to Ichigo.

"I think you're right," Ichigo agreed, "Kuri's just trying not to spook us. I think we all know this isn't good."

Kuri climbed down off of his horse's back and followed the trail of residual reiatsu from the missing delegation.

 _Because it was a peace envoy, they will have traveled on horseback. We should find some lingering signs if the sand hasn't shifted too much._

He found a barely visible hoof print and more reiatsu flickers ahead, and followed them in a steady line for several minutes. Kuri slowed and placed a hand on his sword as something large loomed in the darkness ahead of them. They moved forward more cautiously, then stopped and stared as they recognized the hulking shape as an abandoned carriage.

"This would have held the delegates," Kuri mused, opening the carriage door cautiously and peeking inside, "I sense Byakurai's reiatsu and another."

He moved to the front of the carriage and examined the ground, distress rising in his turquoise eyes.

"Hollows consumed the horses," he said breathlessly.

"Shit," Renji said anxiously.

"That's bad," Ichigo added.

"Deripie, Oga-nii, why don't you hitch Ambrosio and your mount to the carriage?" Kuri suggested, "We will need it to evacuate the injured."

"If there are any left who weren't killed," Ogano whispered to Aderia, who nodded bleakly.

"Ichi-bun, Ren-ren-nii, come with me," Kuri directed the others.

The three moved away on foot and walked on until they came to an extremely dark turn in the path, where signs of recent fighting stood out starkly in the moonlight. Kuri bent and examined the signs carefully.

"There are signs of the release of something very powerful here, at least bankai strength. Most of the guards were slain here," he said, shaking his head, Two people were taken prisoner and one person staggered after them, a short time later. Come this way."

They followed the ominous trail, their worry deepening at the signs of leaking blood from the victims and signs that the lone guard left pursuing them had fallen several times. A short distance later, Kuri came to a sudden halt, almost tripping over the collapsed form of a young man in the darkness. Renji and Ichigo moved forward to join him as he turned the young man over and examined his lovely, but badly bruised face in the moonlight. Kuri went momentarily breathless at the young man's vibrant beauty.

"Who is this?" he mused, staring.

Ichigo and Renji moved closer and their hearts sank.

"That's Taichou's cousin, his bodyguard, Kuchiki Tetsuya," Renji said in a devastaed tone.

"That means that Byakuya is probably one of the prisoners!" Ichigo concluded, "We have to find them fast!"

"We can't leave this one here," Kuri said firmly, lifting Tetsuya's unconscious form into his arms, "He doesn't seem to be badly injured, just drained to near emptiness. I wonder if this is from the hollows."

The group moved forward more cautiously, Kuri carrying Tetsuya and Renji picking out the trail, which led them well off the main path and into an area peppered with dunes that seemed to make a circle around a strangely lighted area. As they approached the lighted area, the three heard low, chanting voices.

They reached the top of a rise and crouched down, inhaling in surprise as they spotted a large audience of hollows, gathered around where two men laid on stone altars, naked and stretched out on their backs, their hands and feet lashed tightly to metal rings clearly meant to hold offerings. Two hollows dressed in ceremonial clothing approached the sacrifices as the chanting grew louder and more excited. Joining hands, the richly dressed hollow couple let out mingled howls and lifted their hands in a gesture of respect to the crescent moon, then bent over the naked sacrifices and began to feed on them.

"Holy shit, TAICHOU!" Renji exclaimed, bursting out from their cover.

"Ren-ren-nii, wait!" Kuri called out desperately, dropping Tetsuya and flash stepping after the redhead.

Ichigo drew his two swords and loosed a flash of reiatsu to draw the hollows' attention away from the others. Renji's skeletal snake exploded out in front of him, crashing into the crowd of hollows and sending bodies flying in all directions. Kuri added a heavy eruption of kido that threw most of the rest of the furious hollows momentarily off their feet. The two feeding hollows paused and raised their heads as blood and reiatsu from their victims trailed down from their snarling mouths.

"Get off them, you bastard!" Renji howled, slamming the skeletal snake into the sacrificial altars and shattering them.

He and Kuri swept in and swiftly grabbed the two dazed shinigamis as they tumbled off of the falling altars.

"Those two are dangerously powerful!" Kuri warned him, shoving the person he'd rescued into Ichigo's arms, then sending another blast at the two that had been feeding on the victims, "I can hold them off, but you two will have to clear a path back to Tetsu-hana!"

"Who?" Ichigo asked, looking confused.

"The pretty one, Byakurai's cousin!" Kuri clarified, loosing another furious blast at the advancing hollows, "Hurry up now!"

"Getsugatenshou!" Ichigo shouted, sending a brilliant flash of power that disintegrated a shocking number of the hollows in their path.

Renji's skeletal snake shrieked and finished the job, leaving the rescuers a cleared path to the top of the dune, where Tetsuya still laid unconscious. Kuri snapped up Tetsuya's limp body and the three made a hasty escape, heading back along the path they had taken and hurrying to where Aderia and Ogano waited with the carriage. To their surprise, two men sat in the carriage, slightly hunched, and obviously nursing moderate injuries.

"What is this?" Kuri asked.

"We found a guard and elder Kuchiki Isas alive," Aderia reported.

"W-were you able to find my son?" Isas panted uncomfortably, searching the ones that the three fighters carried, "Orochi!"

Kuri barely concealed a look of disapproval, but nodded stiffly.

"Ichi-bun has the little reptile," he said off-handedly, "and in case you wondered, we also rescued your clan leader."

Isas gave the Shima leader a dark look.

"That is good news."

"We should really get out of here," Renji said, looking back over his shoulder as snarls and howls sounded nearby.

The fighters quickly loaded the ones they had rescued into the carriage and Ogano turned the horses towards the crossover point, while Aderia moved to the back and leaned over Byakuya, Tetsuya and Orochi. Renji leapt onto Yakkaigoto's back and yanked Ichigo up behind him as Kuri joined the others in the carriage and took the reins from Ogano.

"Please help see to the wounded, Oga-nii."

"Of course, Kuri-kuri."

Ogano bent over Tetsuya, touching his face gently and trying to rouse him, but Tetsuya remained still and unresponsive.

"This man does not appear to have any injuries, nothing to explain his unconsciousness, except that his reiatsu is abysmally low. Something drained him badly. I wonder if it was a hollow."

"It wasn't a hollow," Isas reported, giving Tetsuya a mistrustful look, "He did something. I saw a flash of light around him and then he and his horse disappeared. There was an alicorn, a winged unicorn, in their place. It destroyed the hollows, then disappeared and Tetsuya reappeared without his horse. He staggered off alone, searching for Byakuya."

"You let him go off alone?" Aderia asked sharply, "as drained as he is?"

"My guard and I were in no condition to pursue that little fool!" Isas snapped, "We were injured and in danger of becoming food for the hollows ourselves. Are you questioning my courage, young lady?"

"No," Aderia said, turning her face away to hide her disgust, "I just felt surprised you could stomach seeing your heir dragged away like that."

"I told you there was nothing that my guard or I could do. There were too many damned hollows and we didn't see which way they went."

"But that _angelito_ did," Aderia said saucily, glancing down at Tetsuya's pale, "and even in his weakened state, he thought only of reaching them. I certainly hope your council sees fit to reward him for his bravery. He did, after all, distract the hollows so that you and your guard could escape."

"We should save that discussion for when we're safe," Isas said shortly, "Now, what can you tell me about my son's condition?"

"He and Byakuya-san are in some kind of trance," Aderia said, studying Orochi and the Kuchiki leader more closely, "They are alive and not obviously injured, except that they were drained at the throat by hollows. I am drawing out the hollow reiatsu and I will examine it for contaminants when we reach the Seireitei. These two will have to be under quarantine until we know for certain there will be no alarming effects."

"What kind of effects?" Isas asked, looking worriedly at his son, "What are you saying?"

"There are some hollows, whose bite will slowly transform a victim," Aderia explained, "If that is the case, it is very serious indeed. Some only bite to paralyze so they can eat their prey alive. It seems that was the intent here, but I will need to confirm that when we reach the fourth division."

"Home is closer," Kuri said, looking back over his shoulder, "and if Byakurai and the snake are suffering from a dangerous hollow venom, we need to treat them quickly."

"My brother is right," Aderia asserted, "but of course, you may choose differently for yourself and your son, Kuchiki-san."

"We will accept your hospitality with gratitude," Isas said stonily, "Just be sure to give Orochi the very best of care."

Aderia gave him a scathing look.

"I would never stoop to giving _anyone_ less than my best as a healer!"

The carriage thundered back into the garganta and passed through, bursting our into Kisuke's underground training area. On Kuri's order, the shopkeeper opened a senkaimon and the carriage and following horse flash stepped on. They passed swiftly through the precipice world and back into Soul Society, turning off as they reached the road that led to Shima Adobe. The carriage rolled up to the main house and attendants hurried to assist as the injured men were led or carried into the house's guest rooms. Renji followed Aderia into the room where Orochi and Byakuya were being treated, while Ichigo followed Ogano into Tetsuya's room. Kuri scowled as he watched Isas and his guard being led away by a house healer, and he turned back to enter Tetsuya's room.

"How is he looking, Oga-nii?" he asked his brother-in-law.

"He is exhausted and drained of reiatsu, but he is not seriously injured," Ogano assured him, "I will make sure he is comfortable and give him fluids, but I think he will recover just fine with rest."

"That's good," Kuri said, admiring Tetsuya's comely face, "I am glad he will be all right."

Ogano finished Tetsuya's treatment, then left to join Aderia in treating Byakuya and Orochi.

"How are they, Aderia?" he asked quietly.

"They are starting to respond to me," his wife reported, "but their reiatsu is resonating oddly.

Behind them, Renji frowned and stared at the two, thinking back. A moment later, he stiffened and made a worried exclamation.

"What is it?" Aderia asked in a concerned tone.

"You said they resonate? That's why they're glowing?" Renji inquired.

"Yes," Aderia confirmed, "Their medical history does not reveal any sign of this existing before in them."

"Maybe I can suggest why," Renji offered, "I was watching as the two hollows leading the ceremony bit them. They held hands and their bodies were glowing like that!"

"Just like this?" Aderia asked.

"Yeah," Renji confirmed, "Does that mean something?"

"It does, I think," Aderia mused, "So, the hollows were resonants, and they were engaging is what was probably a binding or marriage ceremony, from what you describe."

"So are they going to be okay?" Renji asked.

"They look like they will be," Aderia posited, "I don't see any transformative reiatsu. But that doesn't mean they're won't be side effects. I will have to monitor them through the night."

"I can watch them while you check on the councilor and his guard," Ogano offered.

" _Gracias_ ," Aderia said gratefully, kissing him as she exited the room.

Ogano looked up as Ichigo joined Renji in the room.

"You two should go and eat something," he suggested, "These men are stable for now, and you haven't eaten or rested in a while."

"Sounds good to me," Ichigo said, smiling as Renji's stomach growled noisily, "And I think Renji approves, ne?"

"I always approve of Magdelina-san's cooking," Renji said enthusiastically.

"Man, you sure forget worrying about Byakuya quick as soon as food is mentioned," Ichigo said, smirking, "I thought you told me you _like_ him."

"Shut up!" Renji hissed, clapping a hand over Ichigo's mouth, "You want to start a scandal? And besides, you shooting off your mouth isn't how I'd want him to find out anyway."

"You should just tell him, stupid," Ichigo sighed, rolling his eyes, "Byakuya's a person. He'll let you know if he likes you back."

"Yeah? He'd probably bankai my ass if he knew," the redhead complained, "But let's forget about that, okay? Food, some of Kuri-kuri's tequila and some dancing...that's what I want right now."

"Sounds great," Ichigo laughed, following Renji towards the kitchen.


	2. The Nightmare we Share

**Chapter 2: The Nightmare We Share**

" _Hermano_ ," Aderia inquired as she leaned first over Byakuya, carefully scanning his body, then connecting briefly with his mind, and followed by doing the same with Orochi, who laid, also unconscious, in the bed next to Byakuya's, "we are being swamped with this and the other injuries. Do you mind giving Tetsuya-san another infusion and trying to see if you can wake him?"

"Have you figured out why he is still unconscious?" Kuri asked in a concerned tone, "It seems strange, considering how little damage was done to him."

"Unfortunately, because we have to focus so much on Byakuya-san and his cousin, we haven't had time to work on that. Why don't you see if you can sense anything?"

Kuri chuckled softly and shook his head.

"If you don't know what's keeping him unconscious, I doubt I will be able to figure it out either, but I will give it a try. It is certainly no trouble to spend more time with the lovely Tetsu-hana."

Aderia gave him a warning scowl.

"You be a gentleman with him!" she snapped, shaking a finger at her brother, "Poor _Angelito_ has been through something terrible. He doesn't need you teasing him."

"I won't tease him, _Hermana_ ," Kuri laughed turning away and saying the next words under his breath, "It's hard to tease someone who's unconscious, but I might just be tempted to steal a kiss..."

He walked into the next room and sat down at Tetsuya's bedside, pausing to look down at the younger man's beautiful sleeping face.

"I would love to wake up next to that every day," he whispered, nudging the unconscious man gently, "Come, Tetsu-hana, you need to wake up and come back to us. Open your eyes. You have your family and friends worried. I know you don't want that."

He caught a breath of a flowery scent, mingled with a touch of fine leather and felt a sinful inward twinge.

 _He is beautiful in the way my Hideaki was...slim and pretty as any woman, but male. Such a perfect blending of masculinity and beauty._

He heard footsteps outside of the room and moved his hands to begin the necessary infusion.

 _His lips look so soft and his hair is probably like silk. I can't think of anything more pleasant than kissing those sweet lips and seeing more of that pale skin._

He licked his lips and looked around to make sure they were alone, then opened Tetsuya's yukata, baring him completely.

"¡ _Dios mío_!" Kuri whispered, breaking out in a sweat at the breath of his sweet scent, the soft glow of white flesh, pert, pink nipples, fine bones and a little trail of even finer black hairs that led down to Tetsuya's serenely pink genitals, " _Kyrie eleison_ , you are killing me, Tetsu-hana!" (Kuri slips into using a latin phrase for 'Lord have mercy' which is used in traditional Catholic mass services.)

Voices in the hallway, outside the doorway made him move quickly to cover Tetsuya's exposed nether region, but left him still bared down to his navel as Kuri's hands touched his chest and abdomen gently to begin the infusion. Tetsuya flinched and groaned at the touch of the reiatsu, but his eyes remained closed.

"Does that hurt, Tetsu-hana?" Kuri asked, not expecting an answer, but feeling another sympathetic twinge.

He paused and closed his eyes, scanning the younger man's spirit centers carefully. He sucked in a surprised breath and halted the infusion immediately.

What is this?" he whispered, examining Tetsuya's spirit centers again, "Something shocked your spirit centers?"

He closed Tetsuya's yukata and left the room, moving back into the room where Byakuya and Orochi were being treated. Aderia looked up as he entered.

"Is our _Angelito_ all right?" she asked quickly.

"He is sleeping comfortably," Kuri confirmed, "but I looked more closely and found his spirit centers have been shocked. They are painful when anything passes through them, even for healing. He moved and showed signs of pain when I tried to infuse him."

"Ah," Aderia said, nodding, "He probably was either stricken by a powerful attack or that power Kuchiki Isas described may have done it. You will need to seal all but his spirit core so that the centers can heal. And only infuse him after. Be sure you give him a pain block before the infusion or it will still hurt near his spirit core."

"I will," Kuri answered, turning back and heading to Tetsuya's side again.

He leaned over Tetsuya and sensed each power center, then set a protective seal to prevent the passage of reiatsu through them. When he reached the young man's spirit core, he set a pain block, then shielded it without sealing it before sitting back and sighing in relief at the more contented look on Tetsuya's sleeping face.

"That feels better, doesn't it?" he said, smiling and touching Tetsuya's face lightly.

As his palm curved around Tetsuya's porcelain cheek, a flicker of blue light appeared suddenly, sinking deeply into Kuri's surprised eyes. He felt a strange tugging, then his vision went blank and he felt a sensation like falling. He crashed down into cold water and sputtered as he scrabbled swiftly for the edge of what appeared to be a large lake. He looked around, blinking and trying to make sense of what had happened, only finding himself more mystified as he examined the dark, moonlit night, the clear field of bright stars over a wide open expanse of lovely meadows.

"What is this?" he whispered, turning back to face the lake he had fallen into.

A glint of light caught his eye and he had a quick glimpse of a pixie-like creature, dressed in shades of blue. She made eye contact for a moment, tilting her head slightly and studying him briefly before she flitted away.

"Odd..." he mused, shaking his head.

His eyes adjusted slowly to the darkness and he looked around again and spotted two collapsed forms a short distance away. He moved closer and recognized Tetsuya at once and found that the other lump was a pretty black Arabian stallion that appeared to be sleeping as well.

"I see," Kuri whispered, "You've pulled me into your inner world, Tetsu-hana. I am flattered, of course, at the honor, but why did you do that?"

He walked to where Tetsuya laid, a slow smile spreading across his face as he realized the young man was delightfully naked and fully revealed in the moonlight.

"Are you trying to tease me?" Kuri chuckled softly, "You are not all angel, then. You have a little of the devil in you too?"

He knelt at Tetsuya's side and reached down to pat his face, then caught his breath in surprise as something whizzed by his head, making him duck.

"How dare you touch my master!" the little blue pixie accused him, her reiatsu flaring around her, "You pervert! Get away from him! How did you get in here?"

Kuri straightened slightly and frowned.

"You mean that you did not give me permission to enter here?" he asked, "Then, how did I enter?"

"You're asking me?" the furious pixie fumed, "I wouldn't give permission for you to come in and lay hands on my master. I don't know how you got in, but you are getting out now!"

"Wait a minute! Wait a minute!" Kuri shouted, batting at the pixie as she shot around him, firing little bolts of stinging reiatsu at him, "I didn't come here to do anything wrong. I was healing him!"

"You call that healing?" the pixie demanded angrily, "I saw you were touching him all over!"

"I was sealing his spirit centers because something shocked them," Kuri explained, "But can you tell me, do you know what did this?"

"Like I'd tell you anything, you lecherous beast!" the pixie sneered, darting around him and firing more stinging bursts of reiatsu.

"Stop it! I'm trying to help," Kuri objected, ducking and leaning close to Tetsuya, "I just want to know why he is still unconscious. Was this your power that did this to him, or did the hollow do this?"

"You want him to get well faster, right?" Kuri reasoned with her, "I want him to wake up and feel better quickly too."

"Why? So you can maul him when he is awake too?"

"I'm not mauling anyone!" Kuri snapped, "I do think he is beautiful. Who would not? But that's not the important thing now. If I want to help Tetsu-hana, I need to know if he did this himself or if a hollow did it?"

"And I told you, I am not telling you anything!" the pixie exclaimed, raising her power threateningly, then extending a hand in his direction, "Get out of here now, or I will attack you, Intruder!"

Kuri shook his head and sighed, then climbed to his feet, facing her and raising his own reiatsu warningly.

"You are a feisty zanpakutou," he complimented her, "I see Tetsu-hana is quite powerful, my lady. But...I am a taichou, and without Tetsu-hana's power, you cannot hope to harm me. Strike me if you want. I am not leaving until you tell me how Tetsu-hana came to be this way."

He stood perfectly still as the pixie's power roared around her and blazed in his direction, striking his shielding so hard it cracked, then shattered. Kuri watched with stunned eyes as it fell and the pixie hissed furiously and darted away.

"Interesting," he whispered, "a focused power exceeding that of a bankai. Luckily, it was not at full power because of Tetsu-hana's unconsciousness or I might have been a little fried."

He knelt at Tetsuya's side again and touched his face gently, trying to rouse him.

"Tetsu-hana," he called softly, "You need to wake up."

Tetsuya's eyelids moved sluggishly and opened, dazzling Kuri into silence with their enchanting sapphire hue.

"Who...are you?" Tetsuya managed weakly.

"I am, Kuri-kuri," he introduced himself, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Tetsu-hana."

"T-tetsuya."

"Of course. But can you tell me, Tetsu-hana..."

"Tetsuya."

"Right. Can you tell me how you managed to shock your spirit centers?"

"I...I can't," Tetsuya whispered shakily, his eyes blinking wearily, "But...Byakuya-sama knows."

"It was you then?"

"Byakuya-sama knows," Tetsuya repeated, closing his eyes and dropping off again.

"You are as stubborn as your lady zanpakutou," Kuri said appreciatively, "But it seems you will be all right. I will just go and let you rest. Sleep well, Tetsu-hana."

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya slowly became aware again and found himself dressed in a torn uniform and staggering through what appeared to be a maze of icy, cold tunnels. He conjured a kido light and looked around in every direction, but couldn't seem to make heads or tails of his situation.

 _Am I really awake_ , he wondered, _or is this a dream?_

He stumbled forward, trying as he moved to remember what had happened the last he could recall.

 _I remember entering Hueco Mundo with the delegation, and we fell under attack. I was hit with something and I couldn't move. I was dragged...somewhere, but I don't remember what happened? What happened there? Where am I now? Is this still Hueco Mundo?_

He inhaled in surprise as a loud hiss sounded and something black and dangerously fast darted past him.

 _What was that?_

He held out the kido light, searching around him, but could find no sign of whatever had just passed by him. With no real options, he moved forward, listening carefully to the sound of drips of water falling and striking the rocks around him. He turned a corner and heard the hissing again, then felt a sharp sting on his arm and staggered back, rubbing his arm, his reiatsu rising and the hissing sounded again.

"Stop!" he warned his attacker, "You aren't going to be able to hurt me. I won't let you."

"Why are you hhhheeerrreee?" the creature hissed, "Thisssssssss is my home!"

"I didn't choose to come here," he replied, looking around and trying to focus on the creature's voice to find its direction, "I woke up here. Who are you?"

"Hah!" the creature spat, flashing past him and leaving a long cut on his other arm, "I ask the questions here! Who are you?"

"I don't answer to you, serpent," Byakuya said in a low, deadly tone.

"You don't anssswer to me," the creature repeated, "but you will fffall to me!"

"Not in this lifetime!" Byakuya seethed, raising his reiatsu and calling his power to bear.

The next time the hissing sounded, a swell of bright pink petal blades lashed at the attacking creature, making it curl in the air and turn aside without touching him. The petal blades followed it down a winding tunnel and Byakuya left them pursuing as he brightened his kido and took a closer look around him. He started to move forward, then froze and called his power to bear again as a dark shadow emerged from another tunnel and paused, glaring at him.

"Orochi?" he mused, frowning, "what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" his cousin asked, scowling, "I should be asking you that. This is my inner world!"

"Your inner world?" Byakuya mused, "I don't understand..."

"I just found my way back here. Something strange has happened. Come, I will show you."

Byakuya observed his cousin warily for a moment, then fell in beside him.

"You were injured," Orochi commented, "How?"

"I believe it was your zanpakutou," Byakuya said dryly, "It moved too quickly for me to see, but I warned it off."

"He is watching," Orochi said, blinking slowly, "It is good I stopped him or he might have poisoned you. As it was, he didn't use his venom. He was playing with you."

"Playing," Byakuya repeated, studying the deep slashes on his arms, "You will want to teach him to play more nicely."

"Kurohebe is not one to be taken lightly. Even I don't completely control him. He is a dominating zanpakutou and really only bonded with me because he sensed my ability and approved."

"Which likely explains why you never joined the Gotei," Byakuya said dryly, "They don't at all approve of feral zanpakutous."

"No," Orochi agreed, "Father was convinced they would kill Kurohebe, so he trained him himself and forbade me ever joining the Gotei 13. Instead, he is grooming me to take his place on the council when he passes."

Orochi paused as they reached a crossroads in the tunnel.

"This way," he said, turning them to the right, where they spotted a brightening at the end of the tunnel.

Byakuya remained close at his cousin's side as they passed through the last of the tunnels and exited, both sensing that Kurohebe's narrowed eyes were still watching them closely. As they emerged into the light, Byakuya made a sound of surprise and stopped in his tracks.

"What is this?" he demanded, looking back at the tunnels behind them.

The two men pondered the way the tunnels seemed to crash into the lighter gardens, looking as though two pictures had been melted together.

"Are these gardens...your inner world?" Orochi asked, indicating the area they stood in, outside the tunnels.

"Yes," Byakuya answered, "but how has _your_ inner world encroached on mine? I've never heard of anything like this happening. It's shocking enough we were able to enter each others' inner worlds, but to have our inner worlds touching?"

"Not just touching, but they look like they've collided violently," Orochi observed.

"We must be unconscious," Byakuya concluded, "We need to go back and figure out what is going on here."

"If we can get back," Orochi said unhappily, "Whatever forced our worlds together may also be holding us captive here."

"There is only one way to find out," Byakuya said, closing his eyes and focusing on his physical body. He sensed Orochi nearby and doing the same. The two experienced a shock of numbing reiatsu and came awake together, sitting up in their respective beds in the Shima infirmary and startling Aderia and Ogano, where they sat beside the beds, examining the two.

""¡ _Dios mío_!" Aderia gasped, staring at the two, then blanching that the strange feel of the reiatsu around them, "What in all that is unholy, has happened to you!"


	3. Sealed Fate

**Chapter 3: Sealed Fate**

 **(This one's a request for Jmi. :) Enjoy! More will be along soon!)**

Urahara Kisuke emerged from the Shima family senkaimon and found a house guard waiting.

"Urahara-san, thank you for coming so quickly," the guard greeted him, "If you will come this way, sir."

Kisuke nodded and fell in with the man, who led him along an outer walkway, then into the main section of the Shima estate. He guided the shopkeeper to one of the guest rooms, then turned back to return to his duties. Kisuke entered the room and found Aderia and Ogano examining Byakuya and his dark-haired, black-eyed cousin, Orochi.

"What's going on here?" Kisuke inquired, "The messenger said that you have what might be a hollow related problem?"

"Yes," Aderia confirmed, "That is why we called upon you. You have much more experience with infections and ailments related to hollows and their reiatsu. We have found signs of infection in both of these men from a pair of bonded hollows that were attempting to use these two for a binding ceremony."

"Right," Kisuke affirmed, moving to Byakuya's side and beginning a careful examination, "Yeah, I definitely sense that there's hollow reiatsu that has bonded with his."

"It's the same with Orochi-san," Ogano reported.

"Any encroachment yet?" Kisuke asked, lifting one of Byakuya's eyelids and checking his pupil, then moving on to the other.

"Not as yet," Aderia explained, "but we aren't sure if the purging of the reiatsu we could leech out was only putting it off, or if it stopped the encroachment."

"That's why we needed your input," Ogano added, "There is something very odd about the reiatsu in them. They woke a little while ago and they were able to tell us that their inner worlds look to have collided!"

"They've what?" Kisuke asked, his eyes widening as he turned back to Byakuya and looked more closely.

"They lost consciousness again quickly," Aderia went on, "and we can't figure out if what they are saying is true. If it is..."

"If it is, we've stepped into a whole new realm of weirdness," Kisuke mused, "I mean, a soul bond will allow passage into each others' worlds, and there is a conduit between them, but what you describe...that's new. I need to talk to them. I'll give them a little nudge to try to wake them up."

He touched Byakuya's face and chest with his fingertips, then sent a small, focused shock through that made the noble's body twitch and his mouth open in a pained gasp.

"Sorry," Kisuke apologized, slipping an arm around Byakuya as he opened his eyes and slowly sat up, "I need to ask you some questions."

Byakuya panted softly, gathering himself, but he gave a little nod to show he had heard.

"You and Orochi-san told Aderia-san that your inner worlds have collided?"

"It...it appears that way," Byakuya answered softly.

"It's not like...a connection, but an incursion?" the shopkeeper asked.

Byakuya nodded, leaning against Kisuke's arm to steady himself.

"I was thrown into his inner world, and we found each other there," Byakuya explained, "His zanpakutou attacked me, but I was able to convince it to back down. I found Orochi and we tried to come back, but we found a place where it looked at though our inner worlds had crashed together. Th-the edges...were almost melted looking where the two met...as though the joining was forceful."

"Mhmm," Kisuke acknowledged, touching his fingertips to the area over Byakuya's navel, then taking samples of his blood and reiatsu, "I can see _something_ pretty cataclysmic has happened. It has to be from the binding ceremony. You see, in a hollow marriage or binding, the more powerful ones share a live sacrifice. They...lay them on an altar and each one performs an initial bite to start the ritual, then they offer the sacrifice they bit to their resonant partner and each drains the others' sacrifice. These healing markings...you can sense it, right? There is a little reiatsu from one hollow and there is a lot more from the one that drained him. If we move to Orochi," Kisuke said, stepping to the other Kuchiki's side, "There is the opposite. Only thing is, these hollows were stopped before they completed the draining."

"But what will happen to them?" Aderia asked worriedly, "Will they hollowfy?"

"I don't think there's enough reiatsu to cause a hollowfication, based on what I see, but what I do see here is that these two are _marked_. Those hollows weren't killed, were they?"

"I don't know," Aderia confessed, "Everything happened so quickly. The others came running back, carrying them. Perhaps if you talk to my brother, he may be able to tell you. Or Renji-san and Ichigo-san were also there and assisted in rescuing them."

"All right," Kisuke said, nodding, "You two keep watching them. Keep measuring the levels of hollow reiatsu and let me know if it starts to increase or cause any other symptoms. Where is Kuri?"

"He is in the next room with Byakuya-san's bodyguard."

"Okay, I'll go see him and see what he knows."

He left the bedroom and moved on to the next, where he found Kuri sitting quietly at Kuchiki Tetsuya's side and infusing the young man with healing reiatsu.

"What happened here?" the shopkeeper asked, sitting down next to Kuri, "You have him stabilized?"

"Oh, he is going to be fine," Kuri assured him, "But I am curious. Do you know anything of Tetsu-hana's powers?"

"I know some," Kisuke confessed, "and from what I see here, I think you're probably curious about what's got him unconscious and so drained."

"His spirit centers were shocked," Kuri reported, "I sealed all but his spirit core to allow them to heal properly. But...it seems that the damage wasn't caused by a hollow. I was pulled into Tetsu-hana's inner world and I was able to wake him there for a few moments. He said he couldn't explain what happened, but that Byakurai knows. And looking at you, I think you know as well."

"I know some," Kisuke admitted, "from healing him once before when he was like this."

Kisuke paused and considered his words carefully.

"You say you were pulled into his inner world? Interesting choice of words there."

"I couldn't have entered without it being of his will."

"Unless there was an open conduit," Kisuke agreed, "but that suggests a special kind of connection, doesn't it?"

"Yes," Kuri agreed, "You are suspecting we have strong resonance?"

"Most likely," the shopkeeper agreed, "It's just strange you were pulled in while he was out cold. Did you meet his zanpakutou?"

"Oh yes," Kuri said, arching an eyebrow, "Feisty little thing with a hot temper. She gave me a little bit of hell."

"She didn't seem to want you there?" Kisuke asked, looking curious.

"Not in the slightest."

"And Tetsuya and his Arashi were out cold?"

"Arashi?"

"His horse. Did you see his horse?"

"Yes," Kuri confirmed, "There was a black horse that was collapsed near Tetsu-hana."

"Interesting," Kisuke mused.

"What do you think is going on?"

"Not sure yet. But I will work on that. First though, I have to get back to Byakuya and his cousin Orochi."

"How are they?" Kuri asked, "Not that I would mind if that snake would roll over and just die, but I am worried about Byakutai."

"Well, they're stabilized for now. But there's some residual reiatsu that has bonded with theirs. It seems to be connected to two bonded hollows. So, I was wondering if you could tell me about what you saw happening when you rescued them. I need to know what the hollows looked like, what they did and what happened to them when you busted in and grabbed our boys."

Kuri nodded.

"There was what looked to be two Arrancars, dark colored with large fangs. They had Byakurai and Snake-san tied to two altars, with their limbs spread out. The victims' eyes were open, but they looked out of it, not there at all. The hollows held hands and howled at the moon, then bent over the two and began to feed on them. Ren-ren-nii charged in and Ichigo and I managed to help him free the two. Ren-ren-nii shattered the altars with his bankai and we grabbed Byakurai and Snake-san. I don't know what happened to the two Arrancars. We didn't kill them. It would have been impossible to fight them, plus the others while trying to protect Byakurai, Snake-san and Tetsu-hana, who were all unconscios."

"Okay, that gives me something to work with."

"What do you think is going on with them?" Kuri asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure, but it looks like some cross bonding occurred between these two during that ritual. I'm going to run some tests that will confirm that and from there we'll have to watch them and see what develops. I'll be around later to check on Tetsuya-san again. I am sure he'll be all right, but you will need to just monitor his reiatsu level and stabilize it if he needs it."

"When do you think he will wake fully?"

"It may be a few days."

"A few days?" Kuri mused, frowning, "What kind of power was that he used?"

Kisuke met Kuri's turquoise eyes for a moment.

"One that requires some sacrifices."

Kuri's head tilted slightly, then he stiffened and his eyes widened.

"Yeah," Kisuke confirmed, "I thought you'd understand."

Kuri watched in silence as Kisuke left, then he returned his attention to the unconscious man he tended. He gazed down quietly at Tetsuya's comely face, thinking deeply.

 _A power that requires sacrifices? That is a divine power, no? My father had a divine power too. It is a sign that this one will someday leave Soul Society, as my father did. He will someday leave everything he knows behind and go on to take a place in the king's hogosha._

Kuri cooled a washcloth with water and washed Tetsuya's face gently.

"It is an honor to be chosen to protect the king," he commented, "My father was one of the king's hogosha as well. _Mamà_ and the rest of us missed him terribly after he left, but we were always proud, very proud of him. You will make your family sad and proud too when you leave, Tetsu-hana. Let us hope that day is far away."

XXXXXXXXXX

Ichigo left his guest room and started down the walkway, headed for the kitchen. He heard Renji's voice floating out from one of the other rooms and paused to look inside, where his eyes found Aderia, Ogano and Kisuke running some kind of test on the two unconscious men in the beds. Renji stood near Kisuke, watching the shopkeeper with worried eyes.

"Taichou's going to be all right, isn't he? He doesn't look very bad, but..."

"Don't worry, Renji-san," Kisuke said reassuringly, "they are both going to be fine. I've confirmed that the reiatsu bonded with theirs is not transforming their cells in a way that would cause them to hollowfy."

"Okay, that's good," Renji said, "right?"

"Yeah, it's good. But it does appear that the reiatsu that bonded with them has caused a permanent change."

"What's that?" Renji asked anxiously.

"They're showing signs of bonding, themselves."

"What?" Renji mused, "Byakuya and that guy don't get along at all. Orochi's called what he is for a reason. He's a slick, conniving little backbiter."

"Yeah, well that snake's reiatsu is now permanently bonded to Byakuya's."

"And what does that mean?"

"I would like to know as well," Byakuya said sleepily, looking up at Kisuke and his fukutaichou through dark, hazy eyes.

"Byakuya-san, good to see you awake," Kisuke greeted him, leaning over him and testing his pupils, "How do you feel?"

"Tired and sore," Byakuya reported, "but I am more curious. What was it you were saying about our condition?"

Kisuke let out a soft, piqued breath.

"It seems that the hollows that bit you and started to feed on you left remnants of their reiatsu that fused with yours. Now, it's not causing encroachment or any other really hazardous change. But what it did do was to cause your soul and Orochi-san's to connect kinda forcefully."

"What does that mean exactly?"

Kisuke looked from Byakuya to the unconscious Orochi and back again. As he sat, considering how to answer, Orochi stirred and opened his obsidian eyes, blinking several times, then focusing on Kisuke.

"Howdy," Kisuke greeted him, "Feeling better?"

"Somewhat," Orochi answered, "but what were you saying to my cousin about our inner worlds? Do you know what's happened?"

"Yeah," Kisuke said, nodding, "I can confrm now that the changes that happened when the hollow reitsu fused with yours and Byakuya's are not physically dangerous, but there is a big change that is going to have some impact."

"What kind of a change is that?" asked Byakuya.

Kisuke took a steadying breath.

"You two are aware that sometimes there are souls that share a destiny...one that involves both of them?"

"Yes," Byakuya affirmed, "the two are bound naturally through the medium of powerful resonance."

Kisuke nodded.

"Some will have a sychronization within their souls that binds their lives together forcefully...one that makes their fates so entwined that there are some physical effects that come into play."

Byakuya and Orochi stiffened, staring at each other in dark wonder.

"And...you say that the changes to our souls are...permanent?" Byakuya asked in a stunned tone.

"It looks that way," Kisuke concluded, "From everything I can tell, when those hollows bit you, then changed bodies to feed on you, their mingled, bonded blood and bits of your blood that was on each set of fangs intermingled. The bonding that was between the two hollows cause a resultant connection between your reiatsus and your souls were fused together...like a perfect reasonance."

"That cannot be!" Byakuya said in a shocked tone, "Urahara Kisuke, are you sure?"

"Everything I read in your souls says that they are bonded, almost like they were torn and sewn together."

"This is impossible!" Orochi exclaimed, "What you're saying is..."

"What is it? What's happening?" Renji demanded, "What the hell is going on?"

He flinched as Ichigo stepped into the room and laid a supportive hand on his arm.

"What's going on is that Byakuya and Orochi have developed a powerful soul bond," Kisuke explained, "a perfect resonance."

"And," Byakuya said, looking up into Renji's confused and worried eyes, "what that means is that our lives too are bound together."

"But what does that mean, Taichou?" Renji pleaded, "You're...going to be okay, right?"

"Byakuya and Orochi will be fine," Kisuke assured him, "But..."

"But there is now a connection between our bodies, minds and powers," Byakuya continued, "We will soon probably be able to hear each other's thoughts, much as Tetsuya and his Arashi hear each other's thoughts. We will be able to borrow each other's powers."

"But it has another effect that really matters because it means that Byakuya and Orochi can only ever reproduce with each other."

"What?" the others in the room exclaimed together.

Byakuya and Orochi stared at each other in dismay.

"I've studied hollows and pretty much everything associated with them for a lot of years," Kisuke went on, "so I know what I'm saying here. You two are lucky you can reproduce at all with each other. If you were humans, you would be out of luck in the baby department, because physical bodies just aren't as able to adjust as more malleable souls. Male souls like theirs that have a true resonance can cause one another to form a spirit chamber that will hold and develop the reiatsu of a child."

"But you say that we can only do this with each other now?" Orochi asked, his black eyes fixing on his cousin.

"Yes," Kisuke confirmed, "that is an effect of the hollow reiatsu that infected you...and as I said, it looks to be a permanent one. I will do a few more tests to be completely sure, but I expect they'll just tell us what we already know."

"Let us hope that your first impression was wrong," Byakuya said unhappily, "because if what you are saying is true, it will have tremendous repercussions for us."

"Like what, Taichou?" Renji asked, staring.

Byakuya let out a long breath.

"Noble leaders take an oath to provide children for the protection of the clan's power and status," he explained, still gazing steadily at his cousin, who looked back at him warily, "If Orochi and I can only reproduce with each other, then we will be required by clan law to be married!"


	4. Obsidian Bride

**Chapter 4: Obsidian Bride**

 **(Thanks to JMI for the request for this story! :) RL is really, really stressful right now, so I will have to catch up on shout outs next chapter. Thanks so very much to everyone reading and reviewing. You guys are wonderful! Love you, Spunky)**

Byakuya sat at the head of the large oak table dominating the central meeting chamber of the Kuchiki council hall with the head councilor to his left and Kisuke seated behind him. The family elders sat around the rest of the table, with Orochi seated in a chair slightly behind his father's. The head councilor brought the meeting to order and turned it immediately over to Byakuya.

"Thank you for meeting on such short notice," Byakuya said, bowing his head slightly, "It is unfortunate that we must meet over unpleasant circumstances, but the situation, according to our laws, does require it. As all of you know, Isas, Orochi and I, as well as protective personnel traveling with us, were attacked by hollows as we were making our way to meet with the new hollow royals. The guards who came with us were slain, all but for Kuchikis Tetsuya and Orochi. Tetsuya is currently still unconscious and unable to give a report. I understand that Kuchiki Isas has already made his report to the council, and I will give mine, along with having Urahara Kisuke give some further relevant information."

Byakuya paused and took a steadying breath.

"The attack began as we passed through the desert in an area known as the fiftieth quadrant. It was supposed to be a safe passageway, but when we were passing through, we encountered a hollow procession, apparently headed to a bridal or bonding ceremony of some kind. The procession attacked the horses and carriage, slaying the horses that were attached to the carriage, as well as the ones that were ridden by several of the guards, who were also killed. Orochi and I attempted to fight the incoming hollows, but were somehow incapacitated by what turned out to be the bonding couple. We were dragged to an altar and laid atop it, then hypnotized so that we would not struggle. The bonding hollows each bit one of us, then switched and began to drain the other of us. Fortunately, before they could finish draining us of life, Shima taichou arrived with reinforcements that were able to free those of us who were taken, and return us home. We are glad to have been rescued and have given our deepest thanks to the Shima clan, but although it is good we escaped, it seems that Orochi and I have suffered some kind of permanent…oddity. I have asked Urahara Kisuke, who was the principal investigator into our circumstances, to come and speak to you about the implications."

Soft, worried whispers rose up around the room as Kisuke stood to address the council.

"I have fully examined both Byakuya-san and Orochi-san," Kisuke reported, "and for the most part, they are fine. Their spirit centers are intact and the hollow reiatsu in their bodies was mostly removed."

" _Mostly_ removed?" Nori inquired.

"Yeah, some of the hollow reiatsu, not enough mind you to cause hollowfication, but some appears to have bonded with Byakuya and Orochi's reiatsu, and I've determined that it caused a massive and violent collision of their inner worlds. Byakuya, will you describe what you and Orochi saw while you were unconscious and in your inner worlds?"

"Of course," Byakuya agreed, "I woke to find myself in a set of tunnels that were not my inner world, although they had the feeling of being _someone's_ inner world. I was almost immediately attacked by Orochi's zanpakutou spirit, who was obviously surprised and unhappy I was there. I found Orochi in the tunnels and he explained that he had fallen into gardens that were not his inner world. As I have gardens in my inner world, I began to think that some kind of conduit had opened up. Orochi and I found a place where there was a connection between our inner worlds. The edges were jagged and looked almost melted, signifying a large, violent collision."

"Thank you, Byakuya-san," Kisuke said, nodding, "At first, I couldn't explain this phenomenon, but further research that I've done indicates that Byakuya-san and Orochi-san seem to have been cross bonded by the bonding ritual."

A roar of whispers made Kisuke fall silent for a moment, waiting.

"The good thing is that there aren't any deadly effects. The two are bonded at the level of a soul bond, though, so that has some pretty big implications. They will have insight into each others' thoughts and may be able, as they bond, to share their powers, but one worrisome side effect is that these two can now only reproduce with each other."

"What?" a female councilor exclaimed.

"How is that possible?" shouted another.

Their inner worlds, and thus, their souls are bound together," Kisuke explained, "That means that there are changes on a cellular level that have affected them."

"But you say they won't hollowfy?" the female councilor asked in a concerned tone.

"They aren't going to hollowfy," Kisuke said with certainty, "But they will always be connected by this collision of their inner worlds."

"And," Nori said, standing, "as you said, that does have implications for us."

He cleared his throat softly before continuing.

"Byakuya, this council does not wish to rush you into anything, however, we have been lax about nominating possible spouses for you, instead agreeing to allow you to choose your own partner, as most young leaders are these days."

"Yes," Byakuya answered guardedly.

"But given that there is no longer any choosing to be done, we must look back at the laws, which clearly state that when a match is determined, the marriage must take place."

"I have no interest in marrying Byakuya!" Orochi snapped, earning a stern hiss from his father and disapproving looks from the council.

"Even so," Nori went on, "you are a member of the clan, and you are a subordinate member under Byakuya's status. You have no say in whether or not this marriage takes place. Byakuya would, however, his ability to choose was lost when your inner worlds collided. As things stand, the two of you must wed immediately."

"This is ludicrous," Byakuya objected, "We should not be forced by this unnatural circumstance to marry."

"But if you don't get married, there will be no heir," Nori argued, "and you have made a commitment to make an heir. The only reason you would not be expected to carry out this duty is if you were sterile, but both you and Orochi were examined upon entering adulthood and were deemed _fertile_. I am sure that all of us here understand your feelings about this. It is a lot to ask of both of you, but according to the laws, we must marry you and place a breaking kido on Orochi to prove the consummation and the attempt at making the heir."

Orochi's reiatsu began to glow darkly around him and he stood, slamming his hands down on the table.

"There is no way in _hell_ that I am going to submit to Byakuya like some… _woman_!"

Nori shook his head reprovingly.

"Sit down, Kuchiki Orochi. And mind well that we employ concubines who are male or female. We also compel young men and women into marriage with great frequency. What we are doing is well within the range of our powers or leadership. We must make sure that Byakuya has children. He is fertile and the only one he can impregnate is you."

"I WILL DIE FIRST!" Orochi shouted, drawing his sword and starting to turn it on himself.

He gasped as his father's hand grabbed the hilt and a low hiss sounded in his ear.

"Don't be a fool!" his father scolded him, "You will disgrace yourself and all of us! You have to go along with this…but…we can use the situation to our advantage."

Orochi gave his father a look of pure hatred, but slid the sword back into its sheath. His lips curled with fury as Isas took his sword from him.

"You know better than to come into this room armed," Isas chided him, "Now, sit down. None of us here want this marriage, but it seems we're backed into a corner, doesn't it?"

Orochi gave the elder man a scathing look.

"So, it seems," he hissed angrily.

"Then," Nori said sternly, "we will not waste time waiting any longer. If you wish a ceremony, you will have a month to plan…"

"There doesn't need to be a ceremony," Isas said shortly, earning another deadly look from his seething son, "We can just have them sign the binding document and the consummation can take place immediately."

He glanced back at Orochi appraisingly, then cleared his throat.

"I think it would be advisable to treat this as an unwilling binding…"

"You _bastard_!" Orochi snapped furiously, "How dare you!"

"That is not necessary," Byakuya said stoically, "I am not worried about him killing himself. I think he will understand this is not wholly without advantages for him and he will restrain himself."

Nori looked from Byakuya to Orochi and shook his head.

"I think it needs a vote. All in favor of treating Kuchiki Orochi as an unwilling participant? Opposed?"

Nori let out a long breath.

"The motion is carried," he announced solemnly, "Orochi will be incarcerated until the consummation and competently guarded until he joins Byakuya."

Nori fastened his eyes on Orochi's malevolent ones and continued.

"Orochi, all of us here have had to give daughters or sons into marriages of state. That you hold yourself above the laws that we ascribe to is disturbing. But…you will learn to honor the rules of the clan. You will marry for the sake of providing heirs and you will carry them in your body because you are the only one who can. You will do this, and then after providing at least two children, you may seek the dissolution of your marriage. Not until. Guards, please remove Orochi to the Kuchiki Manor holding cells."

Orochi bristled visibly, but stopped short of resisting as the guards stepped forward and bound his hands. Byakuya watched through unreadable eyes as Orochi was led away and escaped the council hall quickly as the meeting ended.

XXXXXXXXXX

" _Hermano_ , have you heard the news?" Aderia said softly as she entered the room where Kuri watched over the still unconscious Tetsuya, "Word just came that Byakuya was forced to marry Orochi and Orochi had to be arrested after he drew his sword in council to end his life!"

"Pity they stopped him," Kuri said dryly.

"What a thing to say!" Aderia scolded him, "Although, he _is_ awful. He was horrible to Ogano and me. Ogano doesn't get angry, but he was turning red!"

"You see? They should have let him kill himself."

"Well, he was not too pleased about being forced to marry and to allow Byakuya to impregnate him," Aderia went on, "They threw Orochi in the Kuchiki Manor holding cells until the consummation, which is tonight."

Kuri didn't answer for a moment, but a slow, very amused smile crept across his face. He looked up at Aderia, who tried to look back sternly, but a moment later, burst into laughter along with her brother.

XXXXXXXXXX

Orochi sat with his bound hands in front of him, not looking up as his father shooed the guards away, then entered the cell and stood in front of him.

"Orochi," Isas said sternly, "Look at me."

Orochi continued to look at his bound hands and gave no answer. A hard gasp escaped him as the back of his father's hand struck him soundly across the face.

"I _said_ , look at me!" Isas repeated coldly.

Orochi gave him a chilling glare.

"This is not as bad as you are thinking," he said, more calmly.

"Maybe not for _you_ ," Orochi hissed, "but there is nothing _in it_ for me to be forced to marry and spread my legs for that peasant loving…"

"Shut up and listen to me," Isas snapped, raising his hand again, "I _know_ what is really on your mind, and it's not about this being Byakuya or about having to be dominated. This is about that filthy little half blood you have been pining after, ever since you tasted him in Itamigiri!"

"You don't anything about…"

Orochi's words trailed off into a harder gasp of pain as his father struck him across the face again, this time making a little trickle of blood run down from his nose.

"I know everything that went on in that place," Isas said scathingly, "I know you were pretending to hate them, but taking one or more of them to bed every night you were there. I know that you were trying to sneak Tetsuya and that other boy, Naoki out of the prison, so that you could hide them from me and have your way with them at will. Do you think I am _stupid_? I know you. I know your weakness for them. You're an embarrassment and this is probably the best way you can serve our family, which…is why I have transferred your inheritance and your place as heir to Yuu."

Orochi gave him a look of disbelief.

"You what?" he managed in a shocked tone.

"You are no longer the heir to our subfamily," Isas explained, moving closer and taking a syringe from his pocket, "You are being given to a leader, so it's protocol, since the babies you will have will be considered continuing Byakuya's bloodline."

"What is that for?" Orochi asked warily.

"Just to relax you," Isas assured him, "so that you won't do anything stupid before the consummation."

"Get away from me!" Orochi cried, leaning away as Isas prepared the syringe and closed in on him, "Have you gone _mad_?"

He made a sound of surprise and pain as the needle struck his arm, and almost instantly, a strange calm began to overtake his body. His head bowed and he panted and swayed dizzily. Isas moved closer, sinking his fingers into his son's hair and yanking his head back. He brought his lips to Orochi's ear.

"Listen carefully, and you must do exactly as I tell you. You are to go to the consummation without resisting. You are to lie down quietly and allow Byakuya to impregnate you. And most importantly, at your first opportunity, you are to see that Byakuya has a _fatal_ accident."

Orochi's eyes blinked slowly, but he gave no reply.

"Tell me what you are going to do?" Isas ordered him.

"I will go to the consummation without resisting," Orochi managed, his words barely understandable, "I will let Byakuya impregnate me. And at my first opportunity, I will…"

Orochi's words stopped and his lips curled rebelliously.

"N-no!" he managed hoarsely, "I won't do something like that and thr-throw away my life for _you_!"

Isas shook his head in wonder.

"I should have known poison wouldn't work on Kurohebe's wielder," he said slowly, "so I won't use _poison_ , Orochi. I will make you a promise. I have taken Kurohebe and I am having him sealed within the vault at our estate. You have until the birth of the first child to see that Byakuya dies. If you don't kill him, then I will destroy that thing I gave you."

"B-but you already destroyed my own zanpakutou and fed it to Kurohebe!" Orochi objected.

"Yes, I did," Isas agreed, "so that means if you disappoint me, you will _have_ no zanpakutou. Do we understand each other?"

Orochi swallowed hard, staring at the floor and feeling the burn of his zanpakutou's fury as Kurohebe was locked away from him.

"Orochi?"

Orochi's eyes rose and focused on him disbelievingly.

"I was stupid to ever think that you loved me," he said with chilling calm.

Isas touched the side of his face with the back of the hand he had struck Orochi with.

"Of course I love you, my son," he said more gently, "I gave you Kurohebe, didn't I? He was much stronger than your own zanpakutou, and he made you stronger. You are going to use that strength to end Byakuya's life. Then…the heirs too will have illnesses or accidents and disappear also…until you are all that is left. So, you see, I haven't taken away leadership of the subfamily, but given you a chance to end Byakuya's line and bring our subfamily to leadership of the clan!"

Isas stood back as four guards arrived and entered the cell, the first frowning at the sight of blood on Orochi's face.

"Orochi-sama, are you all right?" the man asked, taking a cloth from within his uniform and dabbing at the blood while Orochi sat dazedly and said nothing.

"Is it time for the consummation?" Isas asked matter-of-factly.

"Yes, sir," the guard answered.

Orochi stiffened as his father bent and hugged him briefly.

"Congratulations, my son," Isas said, his black eyes glinting, "May you be fruitful."


	5. I Don't Live For You Anymore

**Chapter 5: I Don't Live For You Anymore**

 **(Ah, I have like 5 seconds before having to rush off to work, so posting in a hurry. A warning that this is a dark chapter, so be prepared...)**

 _He only had to exist to ruin my life_ , Orochi mused as a house guard checked the binding on his hands and led him out of the holding cell, then onto the lovely path through the Kuchiki Manor gardens to what he intended to be his destruction, _I wondered what I would see when I looked at his face and into his eyes. I didn't know that when I first looked into Tetsuya's sapphire eyes, I was looking at my own death. I said it so many times as I cornered him, beat him down with my words, then filled his body with my seed, "You will be the death of me." I called Tetsuya an abomination, but it wasn't for the reason he expected. I didn't despise him for the peasant blood in his veins, but for making me feel what I did for him._

 _How many times did my father warn me?_

 _How many times did he say that the mixed bloods were insidious thieves who stole our family's beauty and power? Yes, when I looked at Tetsuya, I was stunned by his beauty, and by what I felt burning beneath the surfaces of those crying eyes. In another time and place, he would have been my friend. He would have been my lover. But I took him as my slave instead, and I whispered to him all of the hatred that my father taught me._

Orochi breathed in, but it seemed that the sweet scent of the flowers all around him couldn't reach him anymore.

 _I_ _remember the day that hatred began to be poured into me…_

 _I was eight years old when I began to hear the whispers of my zanpakutou. Already proficient with the use of my weapon, I smiled when I began to hear her voice in my head. I felt immediately the power in her song…and she was always singing. I learned to sing with her. For two years, we worked together. I poured my soul into her, and she bound it to the power of that song. I remember when she sang to me her name…Eika. Her power was the power of breath. With breath, there is life, there are words, there is song. Without breath, there is silence, immobility, death. When I called her name, she filled my breath with her song, and only hearing it denied my enemy the breath needed to call out commands or to sustain the body so that it could fight. I was young, so we could only make my opponents dizzy, so they would stop fighting. But inside, even by the time I was ten years old, I knew that we were capable of killing._

Orochi's feet stopped as he reached the edge of the wooden walkway and stepped up to close the distance to his resting place.

 _It was a week after my tenth birthday that I fell into a deep sleep one night, and although I always dreamed of Eika when I slept, this time she was quiet. Except for that moment when I heard her voice in a way I never had before. I heard her death scream as something huge, black and deadly slowly devoured her._

 _My eyes were blue until that moment. But as she died, that blackness entered my body and turned my eyes this cold obsidian. My heart wanted to die, but Kurohebe curled so tightly around it that the only way to stay alive was to master him. I woke, looking up into my father's eyes. He never apologized. He never let me cry for her. He gave me Kurohebe's name and told me the story._

 _Over a thousand years ago, our ancestor, Kuchiki Yuudai, was chosen to serve as a king's hogosha. During his tenure, he faced many enemies, but the most fearsome was a great spirit snake that had killed many before he crossed Yuudai's path. Most men ran from him or tried to cut off his head, but Yuudai knew such things were futile. He lured the snake into a pit with walls that were slicked, so that the snake could not escape. Then, he took aim on the snake, meaning to kill him. It was then that the spirit snake struck him. But Yuudai didn't die. No, at the last moment, he wrapped his hands around its neck and stared into its black eyes, breathing a charm. The charm opened a bond between the two, making Yuudai immune to the snake's poison. He could have killed the snake easily then, but he was snared by the powerful snake's mind that was ancient and wise, treacherous. It bound its soul to his, and it ate the spirit of his zanpakutou. In each generation after that, one boy was chosen to be Yuudai's heir…to have his zanpakutou devoured and to be bonded to Kurohebe, the dark snake spirit._

 _This is the legacy I was handed._

He paused again at the entrance to Byakuya's master suite, breathing in the scents of sakura and fine wood. The room was large and tastefully decorated with antique cherry wood furniture, several family portraits and smoky wood paneling.

 _I never set foot in this room before…and I will not walk out of it._

 _It is beautiful._

He felt his attendant's touch on his arm, guiding him inside and to the dressing area. Wordlessly, the young man began to remove the handsome black layers, revealing a lovely, pale body that bore odd scars around the wrists and feet, but was perfect in all other places.

 _Princes are never marked where it will be seen by anyone but their slaves, and the slaves know not to talk._

His attendant's hands lifted a white silk yukata and laid it around Orochi's shoulders, then he walked around to face his master and fastened the tie in place.

"Thank you, Shoma."

His attendant gave him a tentative smile.

"W-would Orochi-sama like a sedative?" the attendant asked, "Not to offend you, but it is allowed for those who have not chosen their partner."

 _And this is where my father's plans for me will go awry._

 _In perfect obedience, I will not resist. I will lie down and let Byakuya do as he wishes with me. But as he does, I will only hear Eika's voice whispering into my mind…and the only thing I will feel is my last breath being stolen._

"Yes."

 _It is a good thing that Shoma is here and not at our estate. Father would kill him for something like this. Of course, he doesn't know that the hand meaning to be kind can offer kindness to me by offering death. Sometimes death is the greatest kindness one can offer._

"Orochi-sama, I am…sorry, sir."

"It's fine, Shoma."

"Yes, sir."

Orochi stood quietly as his attendant left for a moment and returned with Byakuya's house healer.

"Have you had any kind of sedative in the last four hours?" the old healer asked.

"No," Orochi lied.

The healer nodded and prepared the syringe.

"Thank you, Michio."

 _I had rather hoped Shoma would inject me, himself. He has been loyal._

Orochi swallowed hard and his heart quickened for a moment as the needle stung his arm like a snake striking.

 _It makes sense._

 _A man who poisons others should die by poison. And Kurohebe will like the irony. I suppose Father will pass him on to Yuu now. I wonder what my younger brother will feel when he listens to the dying scream of his zanpakutou. I was always sort of glad it was me and not him. Yuu is not as much of a bastard as I am. I am glad I won't see what it does to him._

"Th-this way, sir," Shoma said uncertainly, his words echoing strangely in Orochi's mind.

 _It's working quickly._

"Please lie down, sir."

Orochi laid down on his back, feeling a strange numbness all over as his body was bared and his wrists and ankles restrained. Orochi was glad he couldn't see his attendant's eyes anymore, or hear the last kind words before the end. He barely registered when the attendant and healer left the room and Byakuya entered. He vaguely realized that something had appeared above him, blocking out the room's white ceiling and overwriting it in swirls of raven colored hair and deep grey eyes.

Byakuya gazed down at his cousin, frowning at the lack of any reaction.

"Shoma?"

"Yes, Byakuya-sama?"

"Why is he like this?"

"Oh, it's just the sedative, sir. It will wear off in a few hours. My apologies, sir, but we were instructed to treat him as…"

"I am aware, thank you," Byakuya said, dismissing him.

Byakuya climbed onto the bed and knelt next to Orochi, breathing slowly as he contemplated what was expected.

 _I expected to feel repulsed…angry...but all I feel is emptiness. There is nothing at all in his eyes. He doesn't look like himself at all, just an empty shell._

 _I know what is expected, but…_

"Orochi."

His wicked cousin just stared blankly at the ceiling.

Byakuya stared down at the surprisingly lovely body of the man who had caused Tetsuya so much pain, wondering that he should hesitate out of sympathy for Orochi.

 _He was cruel to Tetsuya. I, myself, witnessed what it took for Tetsuya to overcome the damage and I would have thought it would be easy to stand over him and put him, just for a moment, in Tetsuya's shoes, so that he could know the fear, the terror, the numbing pain he inflicted._

 _He has taken the coward's way out. He won't feel anything that I do to him right now. Not that I would mistreat even him in this situation, but being forced into submission is not something a man like Orochi would be able to bear. He was not acting rashly or bluffing when he drew his sword in council and prepared to take his own life._

Byakuya felt a strange chill pass through him as he looked down at his senseless cousin. He felt a flicker of urgency and a deep sense of unease, so he ended his hesitation and picked up the lubricant left on the nightstand. He carefully prepared his cousin's restrained and still form, then felt a powerful jolt pass through him as, for some reason, he looked down and noticed the heavy scarring on his husband's bared feet. A glance at Orochi's partially concealed wrists underscored the feeling of shock he experienced.

 _Of course Orochi's venom had to come from somewhere,_ he reasoned, _Isas is, by no means, a gentle person. But…Orochi was his pride and joy. There must have been times when he displeased his father._

Byakuya quickly ended that line of thinking and moved into position for their joining.

"Orochi?"

Orochi's black eyes moved very slowly to meet his.

 _I was wrong about him being a coward._

He watched his cousin's eyes carefully for signs of pain, but neither kissed nor touched him for pleasure as he completed the necessary sexual act.

 _Everything about this feels cold, distant, impersonal._

 _But it is what we are expected to do. All of us know from a very young age that few noble sons and daughters will marry for love, and that many of our marriages will not be happy ones. I will never waste my love on this man, nor will he love me, but we have honored our pledge of obedience to the rules of the family. As much as Orochi's heart rebelled, he did what was necessary to make himself obey._

"I will leave you now," Byakuya said calmly, staring to climb out of the bed.

He paused as Orochi took a strange, gasping breath. His face had gone ghostly white and his reiatsu seemed far too weak.

"Orochi?"

A heavy feeling of dread crept into Byakuya's heaving chest and he barely had the breath to call for the healer. As Michio's fast footsteps approached, Orochi's black eyes widened and his lips curved slightly upwards.

"Eika," he whispered.

Byakuya shattered the bonds on Orochi's wrists and grabbed the front of his yukata, pulling him up and shaking him firmly.

"Orochi, wake up!"

Orochi looked back at him dazedly, then leaned forward and kissed Byakuya very lightly on the frowning mouth.

"Goodbye," he whispered, his head dropping onto Byakuya's shoulder.

Byakuya gave the healer a look of urgency as Michio rushed to the bed and helped Byakuya to ease Orochi's limp form onto his back again. The healer completed a swift examination and made a sound of dismay.

"This is an overdose!" he exclaimed, "But that's not possible. I measured the dose myself. It was…!"

Michio gave Byakuya a look of dismay.

"I _asked_ him if he had been given a sedative already!" the healer insisted.

Byakuya nodded and laid a hand on his arm.

"I am sure that you did. I think we both know what happened here. He said that he would never agree to this. I knew he was outraged, but I did not think he would really go through with something like this! Please, do what you can."

"I will," the healer promised, leaning over Orochi and infusing his body with stimulant reiatsu.

Byakuya climbed to his feet and closed his yukata.

"Byakuya-sama, what happened?" Shoma exclaimed as he ran into the room alongside Byakuya's own attendant.

Byakuya gave the two attendants a stern, meaningful look.

"Orochi has… _fallen ill_."

 _I do not care what he has done. The man is my husband now and I will not allow him to be dishonored in front of the elders. I am sure they will know the truth, but they cannot question what we reveal publicly._

"Byakuya-sama," Michio said urgently, "I have been made to understand that your inner world is joined with Orochi-sama's."

"Yes?"

"So…you may be able to reach him and help me to bring him back," Michio explained, "I can only do so much from here. A deeper connection could make the difference in saving his life. Please, sir, if you are of a mind to help, you must act now!"

Byakuya nodded and climbed back onto the bed. Michio set Orochi's limp hand in his and Byakuya closed his eyes, focusing inward. Well acquainted with his inner world, he slipped inside easily and found himself standing in the lovely gardens. He flash stepped hastily to the place where his inner world and Orochi's had been joined and found Senbonzakura standing and gazing through the opening with worried eyes. Byakuya's own eyes widened as he saw Orochi's inner world was shaking ominously, and the the shaking was having an impact on his own world as well. The darkness that had begun to lay itself over the black rock of Orochi's demesnes sent little swirls through the connection.

 _Master,_ Senbinzakura said warningly, _something is happening. As his world crumbles, ours begins to fail as well._

Byakuya's lips tightened and he gave no answer as he flash stepped through the opening, heading for Kurohebe's tunnels. He ran through them, calling Orochi's name urgently, but only hearing the dread echoes of his own voice. The tunnels turned and twisted, going on endlessly until he rounded a curve and skidded to a stop.

Ahead of him in a little clearing, Kurohebe knelt over Orochi's still form, baring his fangs and hissing. He turned and struck instantly at Byakuya, barely missing as the Kuchiki leader, snared him with a powerful binding spell that left him unable to move as he dropped to the floor.

"Orochi!" Byakuya panted, running to his cousin's side and dropping onto his knees.

He hauled Orochi into his arms, staring down at him and touching a warm palm to his chest. He sent a shock through Orochi's chest, forcing in his own reiatsu and targeting the reiatsu that was slowing his heart.

"Orochi, breathe!"

Orochi's black eyes moved sluggishly, and his chest shuddered as he tried to obey.

"Breathe," Byakuya said again, rubbing Orochi's chest vigorously and continuing the lifesaving infusion.

Orochi quivered and gasped.

"Eika!"

"What is that?" Byakuya asked, frowning and staring, "What are you saying?"

"I…s-saw her," Orochi whispered, "I heard…h-her voice. She was s-singing."

"Who is Eika?" Byakuya asked urgently, "I do not know her."

A chill went down Byakuya's spine as Orochi's eyes held him in place.

"She was my zanpakutou…before Kurohebe devoured her."

Byakuya glanced back at the dark snake, who hissed angrily at him.

 _You won't be able to hold me for long, fool. You had better be gone before I can more again. He is not worthy of me and I am going to kill him._

"You will do no such thing," Byakuya said in a low voice of warning, "I won't let you."

Byakuya's eyes rounded as the kido holding the snake shattered and Kurohebe struck at them. But as it seemed there was no way to avoid it, a stream of pink, bladed petals formed between them. Byakuya looked up gratefully at the masked samurai that had joined them.

"Thank you, Senbonzakura," Byakuya said gratefully.

"I will suppress him," Sen promised, "Take him to our inner world. Kurohebe is inhibited by something. He cannot cross into our inner world. You may take Orochi there to heal him."

Wordlessly, Byakuya lifted Orochi and proceeded in swift flash steps out of the tunnels and across into his own inner world. He carried his cousin to the little teahouse and laid him down on the floor, leaning over him and continuing to infuse him. Orochi looked up at him silently for a while, breathing slowly and blinking as his eyes began to clear.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he regained the ability to speak.

"I am keeping you alive."

"Why?"

"Because I want to know the truth…about Kurohebe."


	6. Dead Man Bride

**Chapter 6: Dead Man Bride**

 **(Okay, almost through the craziness! One more workday, then a long, wonderful weekend to relax and catch up on everything. May has been the busiest freaking month this year. I have barely had time to breathe. Sleep? What's that? At least my writing fit in here and there. This had been just this side of insanity! lol, but whatever. I hope you guys enjoy the new chapter. I will be catching up on requests and shout outs this weekend. TGI...oh damn, one more day...Love ya, Spunky)**

Slivers of pain leaked through the numbness and silence that had curled around Orochi's body, stealing him out of his reverie and bringing him slowly back to cognizance. He groaned softly, trying to move, but feeling that his hands were held down by something. His legs, too, seemed to be restrained.

"Wh-where am I?" he whispered, flinching at the strange, echoing sound of his voice.

He managed to open his eyes into slits and groaned again at the pain that lanced through his head at even the little bit of light that invaded, blinding him for a moment. His vision cleared gradually, slowly revealing that he lay, bound, on a cot in the holding facility on the Kuchiki main house grounds. Byakuya sat at his side, watching him silently as he regained consciousness. When he seemed lucid, his husband broke his long silence.

"Congratulations," Byakuya said quietly, "you are now carrying my child."

Orochi looked back at him through hazy, still dazed black eyes.

"I shouldn't even be breathing," he answered in a dull, lifeless tone, "I don't know how you did this, but you should have just let me die."

"Perhaps," Byakuya said in a non-committal tone, "but to let you die would have denied me both my child and the chance to learn about the true nature of what you have been calling your _zanpakutou_."

"Ah, you kept me alive to birth your child and out of morbid curiosity about my power, such as it is. Are you really so determined to join yourself with something so wicked? Do you even know how Kurohebe will slither into our progeny's future?"

"No," Byakuya answered calmly, "but I am sure you can tell me."

"And why would I do that?" asked Orochi, curling his hands so that the bonds dug into his flesh, making trickles of blood appear.

"You do not really want to spend the next months of your gestation here in this cell, merely eating, drinking and sleeping, all for the sake of the heir, do you?"

"And you will just let me walk out of here if I tell you about Kurohebe and promise not to kill myself until after your brat is born? Do you think I'm that stupid, Byakuya?"

"You obviously are if you think that being stubborn and defying me will, in any way, keep me from obtaining answers. Let me make myself perfectly clear to you. Because of what happened when we were attacked, you and I appear to be joined at the soul. That means that the monster you are calling your zanpakutou is now part of me as well. It has threatened to kill you and it has already tried to kill me. It is not my intent to allow that thing another strike at either one of us."

"Kurohebe can drag me into my inner world at will and devour me," Orochi said in a low, angry voice, "If he was serious about killing me, I would already have died. I am still not sure how you managed to save me."

Byakuya gave him an amused look.

"How do you think we would address _poison_ , Orochi?" he answered, "You can thank Tetsuya for slowing the poison sufficiently so that we were able to counteract the overdose."

Orochi expelled an annoyed breath and closed his eyes.

"I was cursed to ever lay eyes on that insufferable little blue eyed monster," he answered grimly, "But I thought that Tetsuya was still unconscious."

"He is, however, when we were younger, Tetsuya fashioned a charm, and he gave it to me for my protection. I used it to keep you alive."

"Do you expect me to thank you? I _wanted_ to die."

"I am aware," Byakuya said dryly, "The question that plagues me is exactly why did you want to die? Was it being bonded to me? Was it submitting to me physically? Carrying a child? My child? What exactly made you think that the better course of action was to die?"

Orochi stared back at him wordlessly. After several long moments, Byakuya continued. He touched a fingertip to Orochi's bound wrist, a little flare of power healing the chafing wound Orochi had caused.

"I was wondering if _any_ of those things I mentioned was the reason, or if there was something else that was weighing on you when you made that decision."

"Why does it matter?" Orochi asked, turning his head to look out the small, barred window.

Byakuya captured his chin and forced Orochi's eyes to meet his again. Orochi's black eyes blinked slowly as he and Byakuya stared at each other.

"I told you why it matters," Byakuya said shortly, "Like it or not, I am bound to you now. I am going to learn exactly what I have been bound to. You can be as stubborn as you like, but I will learn what I want to know about you and your power…and…I think it is in your best interests to tell me."

"Oh? And why is that? What would you know about me or my interests? You know nothing about me!"

"I know that Kurohebe is not a zanpakutou as we know it. I do not know what that snake is, but it seems parasitic and definitely evil."

"No one can say you're not perceptive," Orochi commented, "Kurohebe is both. But I didn't have to tell you that. You divined it yourself when he bit you. He was playing with you, teasing you. He was a little unwise to give you any information about him, but it was probably that he didn't judge you to be dangerous to him. If he thought you were truly dangerous, then he would have poisoned you."

"Orochi, what _is_ Kurohebe? Where did he come from? How did he connect with you? And what happened to your true zanpakutou?"

"You think I will just tell you? I won't."

"Why not?" Byakuya persisted, "Who are you protecting by not telling me?"

Byakuya glanced at the light scars around Orochi's wrists and bare feet.

"Are you protecting your family? Is that thing a threat to them? But…maybe not your father, ne?"

Byakuya didn't miss for a moment the way his comment made Orochi's breath catch. He touched his fingertips to Orochi's scarred wrist.

"Isas is not, by any means, a gentle man."

"No," Orochi agreed, "My father is a foul, violent, manipulating bastard. But you know that already. You have pointed it out on occasion in the past. What does my father have to do with anything?"

Byakuya thought carefully before answering.

"Did he force Kurohebe on you?" he asked finally.

Orochi gave him a stony glare and offered no answer.

"What happened to your zanpakutou?" Byakuya asked, "Did the snake kill it?"

"I told you, I have nothing to say to you!" Orochi snapped

"You are saying more than you realize," Byakuya taunted him, "I can see already that your father is responsible for both the death of your zanpakutou and your bond with Kurohebe."

"You don't know _anything_ , you privileged little bastard! You never had to make a sacrifice to gain the power to be respected. Despite your weakling father's obvious deficiencies, he was Ginrei's _favorite_! My father was far more qualified to lead the clan and Ginrei knew it! But he loved poor, inferior Soujun, so set him up, oh, for leadership. It was tragic, though, that he was just setting his own son up to die!"

"Do not _dare_ speak that way to me about my father!" Byakuya seethed, raising a hand to strike Orochi across the face.

He froze, staring in dark wonder as Orochi gritted his teeth and turned his head away reflexively, closing his eyes tightly. When the blow failed to land, Orochi's black eyes opened and looked up at Byakuya curiously.

"What stopped you?" he asked quietly, "If you love your father, you should hit me for saying things like that about him, shouldn't you?"

"My father was weak of body," Byakuya admitted, "That much, I will agree to. But Soujun was talented and he had a vision for the clan. You should know that leading our clan is about more than just power. I have power, but it isn't just that which makes me the clan's leader. To truly be their leader, I had to gain their respect. Some of that was about power, but more was about character."

Orochi stiffened.

"And I would say that a man who beats his wife and children into submission is not one who I could ever follow."

Orochi's heart pounded and his blood seemed to rush in his ears, leaving him dizzy and weak.

"I can see this is distressing for you," Byakuya commented, "We can stop, if you wish, and I can come back later."

Orochi sighed.

"So, you are going to leave me here?" he asked wearily.

"Well, I can't have you killing yourself before I have all of my answers, can I?" Byakuya asked sedately, "or before the birth of our child. Yes, I am leaving you here. You will be freed to eat the meals that are brought to you, and for sufficient exercise to support the baby's development. Otherwise, you will remain bound. I am sorry, but until I understand the thinking behind your two attempts on your own life, I cannot risk you becoming reckless and this time, claiming an innocent life along with your own."

The heir isn't even sentient yet," Orochi mused, "It would not ever have been alive anyway. And for me, better death than to become any more of a travesty than I already am!"

"What does that mean?" Byakuya asked, frowning, "You do not consider child bearing an honorable way of serving the clan?"

"I am no _woman_!" Orochi hissed, "And I am not like that weak, emotional wreck of a cousin of ours. Why couldn't you use _him_ to make babies? He would do _anything_ for you!"

"That bothers you, doesn't it?" Byakuya asked pointedly, "That Tetsuya gave his devotion to me, who freed him, rather than you, who tried to enslave him, mind and body! But…I suppose a person can only give to others what he has learned, himself."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Orochi demanded.

"I think you know what it means," Byakuya said coldly, "You were abused as a child, so when you formed a relationship with Tetsuya, it was an abusive one."

"Don't think that you can begin to understand me!" Orochi fumed, "You haven't any idea…!"

"I know enough," Byakuya snapped, "I am done talking to you for now. Stay here. Be quiet and cooperative, and do not try again to take your life. Do this and you may be allowed a better room within the manor, at some point."

Orochi's jaw clenched and his chest tightened with rage as Byakuya turned his back and started to walk away. He held his composure until he heard the cell door opening, then loosed an almost violent admission.

" _He_ ordered me to kill you!" Orochi cried, "I was supposed to wait until the heir was born, then to kill you and the child."

Byakuya stiffened at the words, but kept his back to Orochi. He considered the words carefully, his face a mask of unreadable emotion, then loosed a soft reply.

"I will be back…and we will talk about this."

Byakuya's breath caught for a moment at the low, guttural sound of agony that escaped his bound cousin, but he forced his feet into motion and left the cell, clanging the door shut behind him.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tetsuya took a deeper breath, catching the mingled scents of nearby flowers and cooking food. His stomach rumbled noisily, catching the attention of the man who sat at his side, looking over a pile of reports.

"Oh, so you decided to wake up in time for lunch, Tetsu-hana?"

"Tetsu… _hana_?" Tetsuya repeated dazedly.

"It's just a nickname," Kuri explained, "I make them up for everyone. You will get used to them. But I assume you are hungry?"

"Starving," Tetsuya admitted, sitting up, "But where am I? And…?"

"You were attacked while on a diplomatic visit to the hollow realm," Kuri began.

"Byakuya!" Tetsuya gasped, remembering, "My cousin…!"

"He is fine," Kuri assured Tetsuya, pushing him gently back down onto the pillows, "Please don't try to get up yet. Your body is still recovering from…what happened in Hueco Mundo."

"But Byakuya-sama…the hollows did something to Oorchi and him! I saw them!"

"I know you did," Kuri informed him, "I also saw the hollows that attacked those two and I know they were performing a sort of marriage ceremony."

"A _marriage_ ceremony?" Tetsuya repeated, shaking his head.

"We…Ichibun, Ren-ren-nii and me…"

"Ichigo and Renji, you mean?"

"Yes, we rescued Snake-san and Byakurai from the hollows and brought all of you back to the Seireitei. Byakurai and Orochi are at Kuchiki Manor."

"But I am here?" Tetsuya mused.

"This was the nearest place to take you. We brought the others here as well, but you slept longer than they did. This is because of a power you used, ne?"

Tetsuya looked back at him guardedly.

"I suppose I was reckless with my power and overextended myself."

"Of course," Kuri said readily, giving him a knowing wink that brought an instant flush to Tetsuya's comely face, "Now, my attendant will be in momentarily with food for us. Is there anything you prefer, Tetsu-hana? Anything you will eat a lot of? You were very depleted."

Tetsuya gave him a tentative smile.

"I do like icy sweets," he confessed.

"Hmm," Kuri mused, motioning to someone who had come to the doorway, "Mitsu, will you go and bring food for the two of us?"

"Of course, Kuri-kuri-sama!" the young man answered, bowing

"Oh, and bring some fresh paletas when you can," Kuri said, glancing at Tetsuya, "Our guest is fond of frozen sweets."

"Yes sir!"

"Thank you, Shima taichou," Tetusya said gratefully, "but I really should be going back home to Byakuya-sama. I will be all right now."

Kuri took hold of his arms as he tried to climb out of the bed.

"You just woke up," he said, sounding amused, "You need to eat and rest more, and then I will accompany you back to Kuchiki Manor. You have my word as a gentleman."

"But I don't really know you," Tetsuya countered, "How do I know if you are a gentleman or not?"

"Oh Tetsu-hana! You insult me," Kuri snickered, "I am a _perfect_ gentleman, so I will have you fed and make sure that you are well rested, and then I will take you home. There is…just one thing."

"And that is?" Tetsuya asked, frowning.

"There is something you probably should know before going home."

"And what is that?"

"Well," Kuri said, frowning and scratching the back of his neck, "The truth is that something kind of strange happened in Hueco Mundo, and it made something even stranger happen here."

"What happened?" Tetsuya asked, sitting up again and earning a warning glance from the Shima leader that made him lean back against the pillows again, "Shima taichou…!"

"Take it easy. Take it easy," Kuri soothed him, putting up his hands in a staying gesture, "I will explain everything if you will just be patient for a moment."

"But you said Byakuya-sama is all right?"

"Yes, he is fine," Kuri assured Tetsuya, "It's just that he and Snake-san…"

"Orochi? What does Orochi have to do with this?" Tetsuya demanded.

"He was affected also."

"Affected how?" Tetsuya asked urgently.

"Well, it seems that the two hollows that were having the marriage ceremony decided to use Byakurai and Snake-san as their wedding sacrifices. They put them on an altar and began to drain them. Don't worry! As I said, we rescued them."

"Then, what happened that…"

"I am getting to that," Kuri chuckled, "When we arrived home and were healing them, Haha-san…"

"Who?"

"Oh, Kisuke…Haha-san," Kuri went on, "He discovered that there was some kind of connection that seemed to be between Byakurai and Snake-san."

"A connection?" Tetsuya inquired worriedly.

"Yes, and when he looked closer, he discovered that somehow Byakurai and Snake-san's inner worlds have collided and sort of melted together."

Tetsuya's eyes widened.

"That doesn't sound good."

"Well, it's not horribly dangerous or anything, but because it caused a forced resonance, the Kuchiki elders ordered Byakurai to marry Snake-san."

"Wh-what?" Tetsuya exclaimed, his face going white and his blue eyes rounding, "Byakuya-sama and Orochi are…?"

"I understand how you feel," Kuri said sympathetically, "Poor Byakurai being tied to that nasty little…"

"I have to go!" Tetsuya said, jumping out of the bed.

"Oh, no way…"

Tetsuya ran for the door, only to slide to a stop a moment later as his legs started to shake and give way under him. Kuri flash stepped across the room, catching him nimbly as Tetsuya collapsed.

"I've got you, Tetsu-hana, and you'd best just listen to me now, eat and rest!"

"But I have to get to Byakuya-sama!" Tetsuya objected.

"Later," Kuri said firmly.

"But you don't know what Orochi is capable of!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

"No, maybe I don't," Kuri agreed, "But I do know that however bad he may be, Byakurai can handle him. I think you know that too, don't you?"

Tetsuya colored and nodded, allowing Kuri to carry him back to the bed.

"Don't worry about your cousin," Kuri advised him, looking up and nodding approvingly as their food arrived, "I have known Byakurai for a long time, and I know that Snake-san has certainly bitten off more than his nasty fangs can poison. He will try his tricks, but Byakurai will see right through him."

Tetsuya considered for a moment, then sighed resignedly. Kuri gave him a bracing smile and handed him a colorful looking iced treat.

"Here now. Try this… _paletas_."

" _Paletas_ ," Tetsuya repeated, leaning forward to accept a bite.

He blinked in surprise and smiled, leaning forward to accept another bite of the chilly treat.

"Oh, that is _wonderful_ , Shima taichou!" he exclaimed.

"Ah-ah," Kuri said, holding the paletas away teasingly, "No more until you learn to say my nickname properly. You will call me Kuri-kuri."

Tetsuya blushed.

"B-but you're a clan leader and a taichou!" he objected, "I can't call you that."

"If you want more of my sister's fresh _paletas_ , then you will. Kuri-kuri."

Tetsuya took a shaky breath.

"Eh…Kuri-kuri- _sama_ ," he offered, almost laughing as Kuri rolled his eyes and fed him another bite.

"I suppose that will have to do for now," he sighed.


	7. Lost Heart

**Chapter 7: Lost Heart**

 **(Sorry to write and run, but I have a zillion and one people tugging at me and taking me running in different directions. Summer is almost here! I love it! Anyway, this one's for Queentlc and others who requested. Have a great day and enjoy the new chapter.)**

"Tetsu-hana!" Kuri panted, flash stepping swiftly to catch up with the blue eyed man as he headed out from Shima adobe, turning in the direction of Kuchiki Manor, "Tetsu-hana, wait!"

Tetsuya flinched and colored, coming to a stop and stiffening as the caramel skinned clan leader caught up to him and stood for a moment, catching his breath.

"Tetsu-hana, you know you should not be leaving yet."

"I told you," Tetsuya said stubbornly, "I have to get back to Kuchiki Manor. I can rest there, but there is no way that I am leaving my cousin to be unguarded around Orochi. He is treacherous. He will hurt Byakuya-sama!"

"Will you please just listen for a moment!" Kuri snapped, his temper getting the best of him, "Your reiatsu barely registers and you know that there was a great amount of pressure placed on your body by using your divine power."

"You don't even know what power I used," Tetsuya said impatiently, "I know my own body better than you do. I will be fine."

"Little _burro_!" Kuri exclaimed heatedly, "You are not going to make it even halfway there, as weak as you are right now! You will faint and we won't know where to find you."

"I am not _weak_!" Tetsuya snapped back, scowling, "I won't faint. I am going to be there for Byakuya-sama."

"Then, at least let me accompany you to assure you get there in one piece," Kuri insisted, looking back behind them and whistling.

Tetsuya let out an impatient breath, but paused as a tall, silver Andalusian stallion trotted out from the paddock behind them.

"You see, this is my Ambrosio."

Tetsuya blinked in surprise at the magnificent beauty of the spirit steed. He sensed the lovely beast's intense reiatsu and looked back at Kuri.

"Are you one of the future _Kishu_ , a king's rider also?"

"M-me?" Kuri mused, frowning, "I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Erm…" Tetsuya said anxiously, "I was just wondering because of him being sort of like my Arashi. Does he speak to you?"

Kuri shook his head and helped Tetsuya mount, then climbed up behind him.

"He has not yet. I don't know if he ever would."

"Oh," Tetsuya said in a slightly disappointed tone.

"What is wrong?" Kuri asked, guiding Ambrosio out of the front entrance and onto the path."

"W-well, you had already figured out that I have the beginnings of a divine power," Tetsuya explained.

"Yes, I figured from the damage you did to yourself in using it," Kuri reasoned.

"I am a candidate for entrance into his majesty's mounted guard, the _Tenba no Kishu_. And I don't know if you are aware, but Kishu usually have a resonant, another Kishu who is their shieldmate."

"A shieldmate?" Kuri repeated, his lips curving upward.

"Yes," Tetsuya said, blushing, "but not in the casual sense. In some cultures, shieldmates were partner warriors who often shared physical relations, but still had their own families. But because Kishu are expected to give up their closeness to their families, they are usually bonded with a resonant and form a family with that person. The Kishu live together and have rules they follow to protect their offspring and to make sure that all riders keep their allegiance to the king. Before I am admitted, I must find my resonant. I just…"

Tetsuya broke off, blushing more furiously.

"And Tetsu-hana gives me the honor of thinking I might be his resonant?" Kuri said charmingly.

"Being a Kishu is no small thing," Tetsuya said in an anxious tone, "A Kishu must separate from their family and join the other Kishu. I know that your father was a king's warrior and that he left you and your mother and sister to serve the king. I wouldn't want them to also lose you."

"It would be difficult for us all," Kuri admitted, "but all of our family accepts that we are first, the king's protectors, then having our own lives. My father understood this and my mother also. If I am called, I will go, just as you will. But I have a question, Tetsu-hana."

Tetsuya looked over his shoulder at Kuri.

"How will we know if we resonate?" he asked, smirking, "Should I kiss you?"

"Kishu usually connect through their spirit steeds," Tetsuya explained, ducking as Kuri tried to capture his lips, "They will not exchange the seeking kiss until their spirit steeds speak to their resonant."

Kuri looked around curiously.

"And where is your steed?" he asked, "You have one. You must if you already know you are a Kishu candidate."

"I do," Tetsuya confirmed, "But when I invoked my divine power, it depleted me so that my Arashi was pulled back into my body. He will emerge sometime soon and after about a month, I will regain my shinigami powers. That is the price of using such a power outside the royal realm and while I am still just a shinigami and not yet transcended."

"Well, when your Arashi returns, you must let me kiss you, ne?" Kuri teased him, "We must see if we are to be bonded."

"Didn't you hear what I said?" Tetsuya chided him, frowning, "A Kishu gives up his or her shinigami family, even a wife or husband, and…"

"Yes, I know," Kuri said more seriously, "I was teasing you, Tetsu-hana. But…it is good to know you consider me worthy of such an honor."

"I didn't say I thought you were _my_ shieldmate," Tetsuya objected, flushing all over again.

"Oh, Tetsu-hana," Kuri laughed, nudging Ambrosio into a trot, "You stab me through the heart!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Orochi shifted and panted softly in his sleep, sweat breaking out on his handsome face, slender throat and muscular chest as he was pulled forcefully into his inner world.

 _He crashed down onto the sharp obsidian rocks in one of Kurohebe's tunnels and felt the snake's presence nearby. He wasn't sure why his heart pounded as it did. He had long ago become used to the great black snake's fearsome appearance and vile ways._

" _I hunger," the snake hissed, slithering towards him._

 _Orochi stepped back as the snake closed in on him._

" _I can't feed you," he said firmly, "I am carrying Byakuya's child and…"_

 _He sucked in a shocked breath as Kurohebe shot forward,curling swiftly around his body and tightening until Orochi gasped and struggled._

" _You have forgotten the rules, little master," the snake reminded him, "I fill you with my power and you yield to my hunger."_

" _S-stop!" Orochi panted dizzily, wincing as the snake's fangs sank into his neck, near the shoulder and begun to drink, "You will kill all three of us!"_

" _Oh, so in love with your child, are you? So in love that you forget I have my needs too? We have an agreement."_

" _I wasn't expecting to carry my own child!" Orochi snapped, his legs weakening ominously and his ears ringing strangely as the snake continued to drain him, "Kurohebe! Kurohebe, stop, damn you!"_

 _His breath caught painfully as the snake tightened so that he could barely breathe and its scathing hiss echoed in his head._

" _I could destroy you easily, little master! Don't think you can tamper with our agreement now. I require your blood and reiatsu while we are bonded, and you will not deny me!"_

 _The snake bit down harder, drawing a scream of agony as it drew out more blood and reiatsu, making Orochi's legs weaken until he collapsed and lost consciousness._

 _The snake ceased its feeding and lowered Orochi to the floor of the tunnel, looking into his wide open and senseless black eyes._

" _Defy me again and I will kill you next time," the snake warned him._

 _Kurohebe turned and slid over Orochi's unmoving body, disappearing into the black tunnels and leaving him alone in the darkness._

 _Several silent minutes passed, but Orochi remained frozen on the glossy black tunnel floor. Echoing footsteps approached and two men appeared from out of one of the connected passageways. Byakuya hurried to Orochi's side and knelt, leaning over him to begin a quick infusion._

" _Senbonzakura, you must suppress that thing until Orochi regains consciousness. Be careful. It seems to have attacked him."_

" _I will be cautious," the samurai promised, taking up a position between the two men and the snake's powerful reiatsu._

 _Byakuya turned his attention to his collapsed cousin, examining him carefully and frowning at finding no obvious wounds, but the presence of a powerful healing reiatsu on Orochi's too pale throat, near one shoulder. A feeling of dark wonder possessed him as he continued to examine his husband._

" _Why did it attack him?" Senbonzakura asked him, still facing away protectively._

" _I don't think it was an attack meant to injure," Byakuya said in a low, angry voice, "It was feeding on him."_

 _He studied Orochi's body more carefully, opening his yukata and sucking in a surprised breath at the signs of pressure and chafing wounds. His hands shook slightly in reaction as he quickly healed the wounds, then shook Orochi gently to try to wake him. Orochi's eyes blinked very slowly and tried to focus on him. Byakuya rubbed his wrists, feeling a soft jolt in his belly at how icy they were._

" _Orochi, listen to me. We need to get out of your inner world. I am going to bring you out."_

 _Orochi couldn't seem to manage an answer, but gave him a short nod. Byakuya lifted his cousin carefully into his arms and closed his eyes, focusing on the cell, where he sat at Orochi's side._

Byakuya's dark eyes opened and he registered that Orochi was still unconscious, but now wholly in his restrained body. He shattered the restraints and removed the power limiter on his husband's wrist as the clan healer ran into the cell to assist him.

"Quickly!" Byakuya warned him, "He was dangerously drained. I have begun to infuse him, but he will need intervention."

"You are bolstering his reiatsu," the healer informed him, "but this man needs a blood transfusion as well."

"Then, do it quickly!" Byakuya snapped, continuing the flow of reiatsu into Orochi's senseless form.

"Just a moment, my boy," the healer soothed him, "I have to type it."

He took a small sample of Orochi's blood and touched it with his reiatsu, sensing the factors within it. A sound of mingled surprise and dismay escaped him.

"What is it? What is wrong?" Byakuya demanded.

"I don't understand," Michio said, his face paling, "I've never sensed blood like his. It doesn't match any blood type I know."

Byakuya glared down at Orochi's tormented expression.

 _There has to be someone…maybe a former victim or…_

He suffered a heavy feeling of comprehension and looked again at the healer.

"Check my blood."

"What?" Michio asked, giving him a look of alarm.

"Just do it, and quickly!" Byakuya insisted.

"O-of course," Michio managed, carefully extracting a sample of the clan leader's blood. Michio examined it closely and gave Byakuya a surprised look.

"It matches," he breathed, "But Byakuya-sama, I know your blood wasn't like this!"

"No," Byakuya agreed, "But when Orochi and I were forcefully bonded and our inner worlds collided, it seems other things about us were affected as well. Now, draw some of my blood and transfuse him immediately!"

The healer nodded and hurriedly extracted the needed fluid, leaving Byakuya reeling slightly.

"Bring sweet tea and something with some sugar in it!" Michio ordered the cell guards, sending one of them flash stepping away.

He took Byakuya's blood and quickly fashioned a kido pump to clean the blood and feed it into Orochi's bloodstream. Byakuya remained at his husband's side, continuing to infuse him with reiatsu as Michio added blood to restore part of what had been drained. After several long minutes, Orochi sucked in a deep breath and tried to sit up. Byakuya's palm touched his chest, stopping him.

"Don't try to get up yet," he warned his husband, "You will only pass out again."

"Wh-what are you…?"

"I think we both know what happened here," Byakuya said in a low, furious tone, "That beast attacked you."

Orochi gave Byakuya a guarded look, but offered no answer.

"Why did it attack you," Byakuya demanded, "It chose to kill you?"

Byakuya paused, his frown deepening.

"But you were alone when I found you, and you were obviously not dead. It attacked you then, but was not meaning to kill you. Why? Was it punishment?"

"You could call it that," Orochi managed in a soft, hissing whisper.

He made a sound of pain as Byakuya grabbed him by the shoulders and glared furiously into his black eyes.

"What happened here?" he demanded, "Tell me what that snake was trying to do!"

Orochi looked back at him silently and refused to respond.

"I will confront him if I have to," Byakuya warned him.

"Don't," Orochi said finally, "He will kill us both. H-he was angry. I was defiant. P-please Byakuya, I…"

Orochi turned quickly and threw up into the trashcan by the cot. Byakuya curled an arm around him, supporting him as he bent over and retched violently, several times before leaning heavily against his husband's shoulder and panting wearily in recovery.

"Orochi," Byakuya said in a softer voice.

"Y-you should never have done this to me," Orochi whispered, closing his eyes, "Kurohebe is enraged."

"This is why he punished you like that?" Byakuya asked.

Orochi quivered and his jaw clenched.

"Tell me!" Byakuya demanded again.

"I can't!" Orochi managed in a curiously desperate tone, "And I can't explain! I can't, Byakuya."

"Why not? Orochi, what is going on here?"

 _He's not just being defiant,_ Byakuya realized suddenly, feeling a worried jolt in his stomach, _Orochi is afraid of that thing._

He tightened his arm around his husband.

"Can you walk?" he asked quietly.

"I think so," Orochi answered in a low, defeated voice.

His legs shook as Byakuya helped him to his feet, and almost immediately gave way. Byakuya caught Orochi as he fell, lifting his husband into his arms and heading out of the holding area.

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" Michio asked in a concerned tone, "He hasn't been himself through all of this, and the boy did try to end his life."

"Orochi is carrying my child," Byakuya said firmly, "and while he is, I will make him as comfortable as possible. We will keep a barrier around the room to discourage him from leaving it, but we do not need to restrain him anymore."

"He is in quite a lot of turmoil," Michio offered uncertainly.

"I know," Byakuya assured him, "I will take care of him. You only need to address Orochi's physical needs. I think it would be more appropriate for me to deal with his more emotional needs."

"Of course, sir," Michio agreed, "I will look him over when he's settled.

Byakuya carried his unconscious husband into the manor's master suite and laid him in bed, then he moved around the room, setting a barrier to keep Orochi in and any unauthorized visitors out. He moved into the dressing room as Michio examined Orochi, returning in a few moments, dressed in his nightclothes. He climbed into the bed, settling beside Orochi and pulling him close as the healer finished his work, sighed and shook his head at the results and relayed them to Byakuya.

"He is recovering, but he will need rest and more reiatsu infusions. The baby's reiatsu is stable for now, but it could destabilize if he is not kept quiet and comfortable."

"I understand," Byakuya answered, "I will take care of him."

Byakuya watched as the healer left, then let out a troubled breath and turned his head to observe his darkly handsome face and unusually tumbled hair.

 _Without the dark clothing and the circlet he uses to hold his hair slicked back, he looks so different. I have always been aware of Orochi's dark kind of beauty. It is much different than Hisana's softer loveliness._

Orochi shifted and loosed a shaky sigh, his eyes slowly opening and rising to meet Byakuya's. He flinched reflexively as Byakuya's fingers smoothed his hair on one side, then touched his face with unexpected gentleness.

"Are you all right now?" he asked.

Orochi's eyes registered the lack of bonds and the presence of a barrier on the room that was as much protective as restrictive.

"What is this?" he asked, frowning, "What are you doing, Byakuya?"

"It does not surprise me that you do not know," Byakuya answered, "After all, your father failed in his duty as a husband. You and I are married and you are carrying my child, Orochi. I am…taking care of you."

Orochi's eyes widened and he went momentarily breathless as Byakuya's lips touched his.

"This," he said more softly, "is affection. And if we make an effort, then someday, you could begin to understand what love is."


	8. The Internal Haunting

**Chapter 8: The Internal Haunting**

 **(I realized that I was misspelling Kurohebi and have corrected it for this chapter. I'll go back and fix the rest later. Anyway, happy Father's Day to those celebrating. Hope you enjoy this rather shocking discovery that babydaddy Byakuya makes. It just could be deadly! Love to all, Spunky)**

Orochi felt something warm, soft and sakura scented that was curled around his huddled form. In sleepy half-awareness, he was transported back to his chamber in the noble's prison, Itamigiri and he turned and scowled at the person who held him, sleep fogging his vision.

"What are _you_ still doing here?" he demanded, "They should have returned you to…"

He stopped himself forcefully, his black eyes blinking and clearing to find Byakuya sitting up in the bed and giving him a dark look.

"Why are you here?" Orochi asked more quietly.

"This is the master's suite and I am master of this house," Byakuya answered solemnly, "It is also customary to share my bed with my clan wife."

Orochi flinched visibly at the appellation, but said nothing in reply. Byakuya studied him for a moment.

"You thought I was Tetsuya, did you not?" he asked more sternly, "How fondly you must remember the way you tormented him."

Orochi's lips stiffened.

"No. He meant nothing to me," he answered flippantly, "I can't help what passes through my head when I'm asleep. Everyone's thoughts crawl like little snakes invading the mind while they're sleeping, don't they?"

Byakuya gave him a measured look.

"Then, you will have no interest in knowing that while you were sleeping, Tetsuya returned to the manor, accompanied by Shima Kurushimi."

"Tetsuya is awake?" Orochi asked, catching himself as the words escaped him and forcefully controlling his expression, "No, I don't have any interest in him. I never did. You know I only ever enjoyed dominating him. He was one of a number of sexual servants I…"

He broke off, tensing and flinching at the scathing look Byakuya turned on him.

"Yes," Byakuya answered shortly, "Tetsuya explained to me, and again in front of the elders exactly what you did to him and to the other young men in the prison. Not that it helped to gain justice for them in the end, but it did force the elders to come to terms with the shocking truth of the cruelty that was inflicted on the inmates of Itamigiri."

Byakuya's expression darkened malevolently and he moved forward, catching Orochi's hand. Orochi tensed more tightly, but remained silent, his dark eyes fixed on Byakuya's and awaiting whatever torment he sensed was coming. Byakuya leaned closer, bringing his lips to his husband's earlobe, making it blush as he loosed his next scathing words.

"I did not just hear the stories," he hissed, "I was in your chamber after, and…I recovered some of your possessions, which I turned over to the council as evidence."

He paused for a moment, feeling his husband's pulse beginning to race under where his hand curled around Orochi's wrist.

"As we are married now, I decided it would be appropriate to return these things to you."

Orochi stared in dark wonder as Byakuya used a kido spell to bind the hand he held to the rail at the top of their bed. His jaw clenched, but he forced himself to remain silent as Byakuya removed a handsome blue yukata and a length of blue silk from within the headboard, then leather restraints and a small, restrictive ring. He watched in silence as his husband attached the restraints to the head and foot of the bed, then shattered the kido holding his wrist.

 _There is obviously no use in fighting him while made powerless from my condition_ , Orochi conceded, _Let him do as he wants. There is nothing Byakuya or anyone else can do to reach a heart that is dry and tunneled like mine._

He cooperated quietly as Byakuya dropped the yukata around his shoulders, then slowly brought him down on his back and affixed his scarred wrists to the head rail and each damaged ankle to the foot rail, leaving Orochi bared in the front and in a scandalous, spread eagle position. He couldn't stop himself from flinching as the length of blue silk that was the tie for the yukata was set over his eyes and tied securely in place.

A fierce, unbidden wonder gripped him suddenly.

 _He is going to hurt me while I'm in this helpless position? Not that it surprises me. He always wanted me to pay for what I did before, and I suppose I do deserve it for tormenting Tetsuya sexually, don't I?_

He sucked in a surprised breath as the ends of Byakuya's hair tickled his cheek, and his husband's deep voice and hot breath touched his earlobe again.

"I do not think that Tetsuya enjoyed this nearly as much as you appear to. You are hard already? Did you know?"

Orochi gasped audibly as Byakuya slid the restrictive ring into place, then paused. He could feel his husband's angry eyes glaring down at him, and only waited for the pain to begin. To his surprise, nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his voice shaking very slightly, "You're afraid of darkening your soul while you punish me? You wonder why I'm so black inside that it comes out of my eyes? Go ahead, then, Byakuya. You'll make a beautiful monster, letting your hatred and rage out in torturing me."

His words stopped suddenly and his heart pounded almost painfully as Byakuya's fingers slid into his mussed hair and tightened warningly.

"Let me make something very clear to you," he hissed venomously, "You deserve something far worse than any torment you used on our cousin. For a person like you, there is only one thing that would hurt more than what you did. And I fully intend to give you the pain you so badly deserve. But, be happy, Orochi, this will begin to make amends for your past sins."

He paused for a moment and Orochi could feel the heat of his quickened breaths.

 _I want to see him._

Orochi's hands moved reflexively, only to be stopped by the heavy leather bonds.

 _Let me see you while you are so possessed._

"It is no easy task to understand a wicked man like you," Byakuya said, still making no move to touch his bound husband, "And coming to that understanding carries a pain of its own. I will confess that the thought of what I have to do is distressing, but as your leader and Tetsuya's, my duty is clear."

"You are compelled to punish me to make me pay for hurting Tetsuya," Orochi interjected, "I understand. And you think I am not man enough to bear whatever horrid things you plan for me? Test me, then. Remember who my father is and what spirit I am bonded to. Nothing you can do is going to injure a heart that no longer feels, Byakuya."

The fingers that were threaded into Orochi's hair tightened further, making the bound man wince.

"When you address me, you will use the proper honorific," Byakuya warned him, "You will only abandon this when I give you my permission. Do you understand, Orochi?"

Orochi's lips curled rebelliously and Byakuya's fingers tightened further, dragging an agonized groan from his bound husband.

" _Answer me_!"

"Y-yes," Orochi managed in a guttural hiss.

"Yes, _what_?" Byakuya persisted.

"Yes, Byakuya-sama," Orochi panted.

The fingers in his hair released, making Orochi surrender a sighing groan of relief. He forcibly slowed his breathing as his heart raced heedlessly.

"You w-wear your brutality well, Byakuya-sama," he spat petulantly, "Go ahead. Test me further. You will find there is nothing you can do that will break me."

Byakuya let out a soft huff of dismissal.

"I do not have to break you," he answered with equal disdain, "You were broken a long time ago…broken and twisted from the innocent child that even you must have been once. Made over into the powerful, but shockingly wicked man you are now. But even you still have a heart that beats and one that bleeds when it is pierced."

"You want to break my heart?" Orochi mused softly, "Rend it then. I don't even feel it beating anymore."

"I believe you," Byakuya said coldly, laying a warm hand on his husband's pale breast and watching him flinch in reaction, "So, perhaps your ability to feel must be restored before you can be made truly penitent."

"And how do you plan to do that?" Orochi taunted him, "If you plan to use pain, you should know that I can tolerate an ungodly amount. You won't be able to dig past the scars that have formed around my heart."

Byakuya's next words sent an odd chill down his spine.

"A person with very strong reiatsu and powerful empathic ability can remove even old, thick scars. Did you not know this?"

"What do you mean?" Orochi demanded.

His teeth clenched as Byakuya's fingers moved the bonds slightly on one wrist.

"If we undo the damage of the past, can we also undo some of your wickedness, my husband?" Byakuya asked, caressing the scarred skin and loosing a concentrated stream of condensed reiatsu.

Orochi swallowed hard, his mind firing back to how the damage had been done.

" _You are the future of this subfamily," Isas hissed in his ear, "but while you are not yet the leader, you will obey me, Orochi!"_

 _Isas gave a scathing look to Orochi's trembling attendant, who held his hands, turned up and stretched out across a thick, fallen tree he knelt in front of._

" _Keep him still!" the elder man scolded the servant boy._

" _Y-yes, Isas-sama," Shoma stammered, his hands shaking and sweaty where they held Orochi's._

" _And stay out of the way. You get in the way and I will see you get a worse beating."_

" _Yes, Isas-sama."_

 _Orochi's jaw clenched as the bladed whip in his father's hands rose. The whip snapped down, once, twice and a third time before Orochi was sweating and shaking softly. The whip struck again and a gasp of pain escaped him. He watched the whip rise, then stared in dismay as Shoma moved suddenly into the path of the falling whip that snapped viciously across his shoulder, chest and arm. The servant fell onto his knees as Isas struck him across the back twice more._

" _Stop!" Orochi shouted, "You wanted him to protect me. It's how he is trained, Father."_

 _He stiffened in preparation as his father's hand struck him across the face, making the flesh of his cheek redden._

" _Don't presume to tell me how to use the family servants."_

 _Isas gave Shoma a seething look._

" _Take him and clean him up. Heal him only enough to stop the bleeding…and no pain block."_

" _Y-yes, sir," Shoma sobbed, sliding a bleeding arm around the Kuchiki prince and helping him to his feet._

 _He put his lips close to Orochi's earlobe._

" _Don't worry, Orochi-sama, I will take care of you."_

"What's wrong?" Byakuya asked, his voice shattering Orochi's reverie and bringing him forcefully back to the present, "I was not aware that snakes could shed tears."

"They can't," Orochi said bitterly, swallowing hard and forcing away the harsh memory.

"Tetsuya used to cry underneath that blindfold too," Byakuya noted quietly, "There are still stains from his tears that are now mingling with yours. That is a kind of justice, isn't it?"

Orochi's jaw clenched, but he gave no answer, and he shivered only slightly as Byakuya re-tied his fully healed wrist to the rail, then freed and carefully healed the other. He bound the second healed wrist to the rail, then moved down and healed each of his husband's scarred ankles and feet.

"Can I ask you something?" Byakuya inquired, "You certainly could have had the scars professionally removed once you were an adult and not subject to your father's violence so much. Why did you choose not to?"

"Why do you want to know?" Orochi asked disdainfully, "Why would that matter to you? You're getting distracted, aren't you?"

"Am I?" Byakuya asked sedately.

"You said you were going to punish me for hurting Tetsuya, didn't you?"

"All in good time. I asked you a question. I would like an answer."

"I don't know if I have one," Orochi confessed, "I suppose they are a reminder. Or maybe they were just there for so long, I stopped caring about them."

"You?" Byakuya asked, arching a fine eyebrow, "To you, appearance is important. You are usually dressed impeccably…all black, imposing, fine cloth, lined with silk."

He touched his lips to his husband's earlobe as he continued.

"Every hair slicked back and kept under control with a band of pure gold, a reminder of the prince of the highly ranked subfamily that you are. Your visible flesh is pristine and you always smell attractive."

Byakuya paused, his breath catching slightly as he regarded Orochi's naked, restrained body.

"Looking at you the way you are now, no one would know you."

"Is that supposed to humble me?" Orochi asked icily, "That's what all of this is about, isn't it? Humiliating me and exacting revenge for what I did to Tetsuya?"

"Do you think that you do not deserve to pay for your sins, Orochi? Are you so secure in the title of _prince_ that you wear, that you have forgotten that we princes are held even more accountable for our actions? What we do has consequences. When your father was beating you and wearing you down, molding you into the person he wanted, did he never tell you this?"

"The one and only lesson my father taught me was that one either dominates or is dominated. If you are weaker, you will be dominated. I was living by that rule when I dominated Tetsuya in Itamigiri, and I am no less adhering to it, now that circumstances have made me your weak, useless bride."

Orochi felt instantly the telling silence that warned him he had overstepped a boundary of some kind. He stiffened, his breaths shortening anxiously and sweat breaking out on his forehead as he waited for a response.

"This is how Isas views your mother, Maria?" Byakuya asked calmly, "Weak and useless? Is that how you also see her, Orochi?"

Orochi reached in his mind for an answer, but images of his mother as he remembered her didn't look weak to him.

" _Get out of the way, woman! The boy was defiant and he is going to be punished for that."_

 _Maria's slender body trembled visibly as she positioned herself in front of her small, cowering son, but she stiffened and lifted her chin so that her determined eyes met her husband's._

" _Then, I am being defiant and you will have to punish me first."_

 _XXX_

" _Why are you interfering?" Isas demanded, "Orochi will never improve in controlling his power if he does not suffer the consequences of failure. Do not touch him!"_

" _That thing you bonded to him is going to destroy him, Isas!" Maria objected, "Our son had a beautiful, honorable power and you stole that from him. It is too much. I won't let you do this to him!"_

 _Orochi watched in silence as his father struck his mother hard across the face and she collapsed at his feet. Isas glared down at the terrified boy, his lips curling._

" _You see now where weakness gets you?" he said coldly, "You must be strong to control Kurohebi. Now, enter your inner world and fight! You will master him. You are strong enough. Just cast your weakness aside and you will be the monster that Kurohebi fears!"_

 _XXX_

"You haven't answered me," Byakuya observed, studying carefully the tension in his husband's bound body, "but what I see and feel in your body indicates that my suspicions are correct."

Orochi tried to move his lips, but remained frozen, sensing the incoming truth but powerless to stop it.

 _And in truth, I don't want to stop it. I wanted to scream it while my zanpakuto was being murdered, while my servant was protecting me, while my mother was protecting me, and while Tetsuya was crying as I abused him. The truth was always in front of me. It is just that my father tore out the eyes I once saw the world through, and he replaced them with eyes like his own. My colored eyes became the black, emotionless eyes of that monster he forced me to dominate. Yes, I became strong, but Byakuya is right. I was twisted and broken…so badly that things like love, affection, kindness are foreign to me. They are painful to me. Every time I showed them and every time someone else showed them, my father made them pay. He taught me to do the same, even though it damaged me to do those things. I am a monster now, an evil, twisted thing with no hope of redemption._

 _But I feel what is about to happen._

"You look at your mother and you see strength," Byakuya said solemnly, "It is not the same kind of strength that you used to control Kurohebi. It is a strength that comes from loving, feeling, protecting."

"You can't protect anyone if you are weak," Orochi hissed softly, "You have to be strong to protect anything."

"I understand," Byakuya answered calmly, "You were just a little child and not able to stop your father from allowing Kurohebi to destroy your zanpakuto. You do not have to agree. I already know. And I suspect that when your father hurt your mother, it was because she was protecting you. She only ended up getting hurt too. You found this confusing. Then, you went to Itamigiri and you saw Tetsuya. He has large blue eyes and waves of black hair that are similar to Maria's. You saw him and you knew he was weak and could not protect himself. You, yourself, sought to strengthen him, didn't you, Orochi."

"No," Orochi lied, "I only meant to dominate him. Tetsuya never…"

His voice died in his throat as Byakuya's fingertips touched his lips in a staying gesture.

"You were taught that weakness can only be vanquished if one becomes able to dominate. Do not bother to object. It is a waste of time. I know this is what your father inflicted on you. When you saw Tetsuya, he reminded you of your mother, and you knew that one who was lovely and weak as he was could not protect himself. Everyone around you believed that you were heartlessly dominating Tetsuya for your amusement, but that is not the truth, is it, Orochi?"

A shaft of terror stabbed Orochi's insides and he couldn't issue a sound.

"You didn't see weakness when you bound our cousin and abused him. You looked at Tetsuya, at his teary eyes, his sounds of pain, his trembling, and you saw his strength to resist, even as you tormented him. No matter how you hurt him, Tetsuya endured. He staggered back to his cell and he lived for the next day. Day after day, in the cold and darkness, he waited. He was weak and he cried, but there was a strength in Tetsuya that never failed. It was this…Tetsuya's strong heart…that made you love him."

"You're delusional!" Orochi spat furiously, "I never loved that spineless little half-blood! I put him to the only use he had!"

Orochi gasped in surprise and dismay as Byakuya's hand tore the blindfold from over his black eyes.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that lie again," Byakuya said warningly, "You were in love with Tetsuya then, just as you are now. Your breath is filled with lies, but inside, you know the truth."

Deep, unbidden fury welled up in Orochi's heaving chest and escaped him before he could think to hold back.

"And what if I was in love with him? What if I still am? Does any of that matter now? You and I are bound together at the soul, Byakuya- _sama_. What either of us wishes is meaningless because of that! I have as much control over who I love as I do over that monstrosity that lives, wrapped around my core!"

Byakuya stared in morbid fascination as Orochi's black eyes rounded with realization at exactly what he had revealed. A moment later, the bound man's body arched and Orochi gasped in torment, his fingers and toes curling as he fought the restraints.

"What is wrapped around your core," Byakuya whispered, extending a hand over Orochi's bare abdomen.

"No, don't touch it!" Orochi snapped desperately, "No one can see it or know it's there! Byakuya, if you try to do anything to it, Kurohebi will destroy this baby and me!"

" _What_ will destroy you?" Byakuya demanded, "Orochi, you tell me now what is going on or I will end both that snake and you!"

"Go ahead, you bastard!" Orochi screamed, "I _want him to die!_ I never wanted this in the first place and I'll be glad if this ends with me!"

Orochi struggled wildly as Byakuya's hand touched his abdomen and his grey eyes widened with shock.

"I sense it now," he mused softly, barely hearing the horrified scream that escaped his writhing husband, "There is a snake coiled around your spirit core."


	9. Deal with the Devil

**Chapter 9: Deal with the Devil**

 **(A request by AvellaAria and Fire Vixon. Enjoy! Love to all, Spunky)**

Relief flooded Byakuya's tensed features as Urahara Kisuke appeared in the doorway and immediately moved to Orochi's side. The black-eyed noble writhed feverishly, moaning and panting, sweat covering his pale flesh. The shopkeeper commenced a swift assessment, then looked up at Byakuya questioningly.

"In your message, you said that there was something wrapped around his soul core?" he asked, frowning.

"Yes," Byakuya affirmed, "I felt its presence. It is a snake…one that he claims is his zanpakutou."

Kisuke looked back at him skeptically.

"I can't see the damned thing, but I can tell you that whatever I sensed there is no zanpakutou. This thing is demonic in nature, very powerful."

"That was my impression," Byakuya agreed, "although, perhaps because of our forced connection, I can also see the snake. Orochi seemed terrified of me learning about it."

"Yeah," Kisuke sighed, bending over Orochi and administering a sedative, "Not real surprising."

Gradually, Orochi's struggling ceased and he laid still, his black eyes opened, but senseless.

"I guess he would be, wouldn't he? There's a tension between this snake's body and Orochi's soul core that suggests they coexist only because it hasn't been able to crush Orochi's soul core yet. He's fought it off and they obviously have some sort of agreement."

Byakuya's frown deepened.

"Orochi lost consciousness before, and I went to search for him in our inner world. I found him collapsed in Kurohebi's tunnels. He was barely conscious, and his blood and reiatsu had been drained."

"Part of the agreement?" Kisuke posited.

"So it seems. But the presence of the baby inside him has angered the snake spirit. It still wants to feed on Orochi, regardless of the damage it will do to Orochi or the baby. I was able to offset the damage by infusing him with my reiatsu and transfusing him with my blood. Incidentally, in doing this, Michio found that my blood has changed from what it was like before Orochi and I were forcefully bonded."

Kisuke let out a low whistle.

"Well, that gives me a lot to work with. I'm going to take some more samples and go back to my lab. But I can tell you right now that what I find probably won't be good."

"And what should I do in the meantime?" Byakuya asked, glancing at Orochi's ominously still form, "He is barely holding that thing off. And now that it knows we're aware of it, it may just destroy him and the baby."

"Yeah," Kisuke said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "We should see if there's something you can do about that."

"Me?" Byakuya inquired, looking confused.

"You're his soul mate," the shopkeeper reminded him, "You can enter his inner world, and I would suggest trying to make some sort of agreement for the sake of your child, because I'm telling you right now, you don't want to have this fight with the snake spirit while Orochi is pregnant."

"I am certain Kurohebi knows that," Byakuya said darkly, "He won't agree to anything."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Kisuke said cryptically, "Why don't you go and talk to him. See what you can hammer out. Just keep in mind that demon possession requires a host. If Orochi dies and there's no host, the snake will die too."

"That's right," Byakuya mused softly, "It is a parasitic demon."

"Be careful that you don't get yourself invaded," Kisuke warned him, "and remember that the baby is vulnerable too. If Orochi isn't protecting the little one, that snake could infect the baby…although, that would make it more vulnerable, so it would probably be a last resort. No, it's most likely to try to invade your soul if it wants to leave Orochi."

"I will be careful," Byakuya said, climbing onto the bed and laying down beside his senseless spouse.

"Byakuya, be _extremely_ careful," Kisuke said ominously, "This thing is deadly."

"I am aware," Byakuya assured him.

He closed his eyes, focusing on his inner world. His mind went into a slow spin, and he felt himself falling. He felt immediately that Senbonzakura was alert and on his guard. The zanpakutou spirit met him as he arrived, and took his hand.

"Master, you must come quickly!"

"I know," Byakuya assured him, "Orochi is in distress."

"It is the baby as well," the spirit explained.

Byakuya tensed.

"I was able to use my Gokei to wrap around it and remove it to our inner world, where that thing cannot harm it, but the snake threatened to kill the child."

"Let's go!" Byakuya snapped impatiently.

"This way!"

Senbonzakura led Byakuya into Orochi's tunnels, guiding him carefully through the twisting passages, his eyes darting about mistrustfully.

"The snake has been especially dastardly," Sen explained, "It still can't get into our inner world, but I was also not able to bring Orochi's spirit in."

"It is good that you found a way to protect the baby. Orochi is holding his own, but we need to diffuse this situation before one or both are lost."

"I agree."

The two slowed as they reached the center of the tunnels and came to a stop upon spotting Orochi's unconscious form that was wrapped tightly in Kurohebi's coil. The snake's head lifted and the spirit loosed a furious hiss, baring large fangs at the two as they edged closer.

"Ssssstay back!" the spirit warned them, "Thisssss one belongsssss to me!"

"I think you are mistaken," Byakuya said, drawing his sword, "I am leader of his clan, and Orochi is married to me. He is required to produce my heirs. You have no right to him or the child he carries."

"Wrong!" the snake spat, expelling foul looking venom and forcing Byakuya and Senbonzakura to flash step away, "His soul was bonded with me when he was a child, well before he was married to you."

"That is immaterial, as Orochi is carrying the Kuchiki heir, and that child's fate belongs to me."

The snake glowered and tightened its hold on Orochi, making his body jerk in reaction and his black eyes open and widen in distress.

"What are you doing?" he gasped, "Get back!"

Byakuya's grey eyes flared in challenge.

"I will not allow a _beast_ like you to determine anyone's fate," Byakuya said coldly, "I am lord over any who wear my family's name, and if you want Orochi's soul, then you will have to wrest it from my cold, dead hands, serpent!"

"I already have him," Kurohebi hissed, his head swaying from side to side, then expelling more of the poisonous venom.

"Byakuya!" Orochi managed, striking at the snake's head with one hand that had managed to free itself.

He tore at the snake's eyes as Kurohebi drew his head back and punished his errant master with a swift, brutal bite to his shoulder. Orochi bit back a cry of pain, then stared in shock as the wound began to burn fiercely.

"You've poisoned him," Byakuya observed, his tone oddly calm, "I would wager that you did this from anger and did not consider the implications."

"H-hagh!" the snake hissed, his black eyes filling with rage, "You bastard! You will be sorry for what you've done!"

"I did not have to do anything," Byakuya said, frowning, "You struck him yourself in an unwise attempt to punish him. You do realize that if Orochi dies, then this child will die with him. And, it is my understanding that you need access to a host, if you wish to continue living."

"I can find a new hossssst!" the snake argued, releasing Orochi and firing himself after Senbonzakura.

The samurai exchanged glances with Byakuya, flash stepping away and leading the snake off, while Byakuya moved quickly to Orochi's side and helped him sit up. Orochi coughed and struggled to breathe, his face white and his hands clenching at Byakuya's arms.

"Come. I will take you back and Tetsuya's charm can slow the poison, so that it can be eradicated."

"H-he will k-kill your Senbonzakura!" Orochi managed weakly, his eyes going hazy again, "Byakuya…y-you must protect your…zanpakutou."

Byakuya pulled Orochi closer and held him tightly, focusing on the place where their bodies lay, side-by-side.

"Senbonzakura will be fine," Byakuya said calmly, "He knows that Kurohebi cannot enter my gardens, and he will go there now. Senbonzakura will not be harmed."

"Y-you don't know!" Orochi panted weakly, his fingers digging in desperately where they still held on to his husband, "He won't give it back. He will kill it and w-won't…"

"What are you saying?" Byakuya asked, frowning.

A look of devastation overtook Orochi's darkly handsome face and his voice became tormented.

"I broke the agreement by telling you about him," he confessed, "As punishment, he has poisoned me…and he will crush my soul core and destroy the final shard of my zanpakutou! You c-can't let him have Senbonzakura too!"

"Orochi…" Byakuya began.

Orochi's palm began to take on an odd, blue glow as he placed it on Byakuya's face.

"You already know. You might as well see," he reasoned, closing his own eyes against the horrid memory he sent flashing before Byakuya's stunned eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

 _Orochi fought wildly, kicking ferociously and screaming in terror as his father's strong hands held his wrists in place and coiled rope around the slender, vulnerable limbs. His reckless struggles made the taut ropes tear his skin and he expected any minute to hear Isas curse him, and to feel his father's hand strike him. Strangely, Isas released him, only watching in fascination as Orochi howled in pain and fear, resisting with all of his might as he sensed something horrible was about to happen._

" _I won't tell you to calm down this time," Isas's low, malevolent voice informed him, "Now that your zanpakutou has been fed to him and only the tiny shard in your soul core remains, Kurohebi will enter you and you will prove you are strong enough to resist him."_

" _Father, no!" Orochi sobbed, "Get it away from me! It will kill me! I know it will!"_

 _Orochi kicked harder, straining against the bonds that held his hands above his head and were securely fastened to the tree limb above him._

" _GET IT AWAY FROM ME! I DON'T WANT THIS!"_

 _Isas said nothing in reply, but slowly drew a dark steel sword from the sheath he carried. He moved in close to Orochi, grabbing his son's bound wrists in one hand and positioning the dread weapon so that the tip touched the boy's abdomen, just over his spirit core._

" _I know you don't understand, Orochi," Isas said solemnly, "but this is a burden and an honor that we pass from one powerful heir to the next. I have carried Kurohebi in my soul for many years. When I was given this blade, this responsibility, I, too, was weak and afraid, but the gift of Kurohebi is strength that will instead make you the one who is feared. You will carry him in your body, as I have, and as my predecessor did. And someday, you will offer your son to him, to carry on the power that belongs to our bloodline alone!"_

 _Orochi's chest heaved and his mind spun, the words barely making sense to him. But after a moment, his struggling ceased and he looked up at Isas questioningly._

" _Did he kill your zanpakutou too?" the boy asked weakly._

" _Weren't you listening?" Isas chided him, "I said that there was a shard from your zanpakutou that still rests in your spirit core. This is how Kurohebi will make you keep your promises to feed him and to give him the soul of your strongest child. He devoured all but that shard. Your zanpakutou is functionally dead and can only be revived someday if that last shard is not destroyed. And what do you think Kurohebi will do if you ever reveal his presence or his secrets, Orochi?"_

 _Tears leaked from the corners of Orochi's blue eyes and a strangled sob escaped him. Isas's hand tightened around the hilt of the dark blade._

" _Resist him," Isas advised his terrified son, "He will coil around your spirit core until only your reiatsu holds him back from crushing it. If you want to live, resist him and keep his secrets, Orochi. Never speak a word of what you know about him, until it is time to pass him on to your strongest child. This is our family legacy. Be proud. This will elevate you and make you respected."_

" _I hate you!" Orochi howled, shrinking back as Isas tensed and thrust the tip of the dark sword into his son's spirit core, "I hate you, Father! I hate you! I hate you! N-no, sssssssstop!"_

 _His screams became mindless and his words incomprehensible as he felt the long, black snake soul slide out of the sword and coil slowly around his soul core. He tore at the bindings, rending the flesh of his wrists as his father withdrew the sword and curled it into his son's bound hands._

" _Resist him, Orochi," Isas warned the boy, "or he will kill you."_

 _Orochi felt his will begin to collapse as the snake's body tightened threateningly around his soul core and it felt as though the breath was being sucked from his lungs._

" _Resist…"_

 _Pain and fear rose like a wall around his roiling mind and for a moment, Orochi was convinced that he was going to die. But just as his soul core began to implode, he heard a devastatingly familiar voice whisper in his mind._

" _You belong to him now," Eika breathed weakly, "I can't change that…but you are not alone, Orochi."_

 _The snake's power and the tension around his soul core swiftly silenced the soothing, feminine voice, but it was enough that Orochi's defenses snapped into place, and he was able to fight back against the things that squeezed his soul core to the point of destruction. Kurohebi's hiss filled his ears and dark power flooded Orochi's stricken body. Isas watched in dark fascination as his son's distressed blue eyes radiated the wicked power, and were slowly rewritten in cold, empty obsidian. When the transition was complete, he sighed softly and cut the bonds holding Orochi in place. Sword and boy fell at his feet and Isas smiled as he heard the almost forgotten whisper of his own repressed zanpakutou._

" _There now, you will be able to recover," he breathed softly, "We have done our part. It is now Orochi's legacy to carry."_

 _He turned away, leaving his barely conscious son alone with the blade. Orochi remained perfectly still, able only to breathe slowly and stare at the sword. He barely heard the approach of his attendant, or the cry of dismay he loosed upon finding his collapsed master._

" _Orochi-sama!" Shoma sobbed, falling onto his knees at the young prince's side, "Orochi-sama, what has happened to you?"_

 _He stiffened, staring at the odd black eyes that looked blankly back at him._

" _I will take care of you," Shoma said, leaving him for a moment to gather water from a nearby stream and to dampen a cloth that he used to gently wash Orochi's sweaty face and torn wrists, "I don't know what happened, but he did it, didn't he? Your father, Isas-sama hurt you like this? You must have made him very angry. Please, Orochi-sama, you must be more careful."_

 _Orochi said nothing, but accepted a small amount of water, then allowed the other youth to help him to his feet._

" _Let's get you back to the house."_

" _H-he might be there."_

" _No, he told Nao that he had something to see to elsewhere. He won't be back for a while. I will take you to Maria-sama."_

" _No," Orochi said wearily._

" _S-sir?" Shoma inquired tentatively._

" _Don't bother her. Just…I need to rest for a while. We'll go to your quarters."_

" _But sir!"_

" _Just…let's go. I'm tired, Shoma. I need to sleep somewhere safe."_

 _The attendant looked back at him for a moment, then sighed and nodded._

" _Very well, Orochi-sama. I will take care of you."_

" _Thank you, Shoma."_

Byakuya watched warily as the vision faded, then he forced their souls out of Orochi's inner world and back into their resting bodies. He sat up slowly, watching solemnly as Orochi turned away from him and coiled reflexively. Byakuya touched his husband's shoulder and felt Orochi stiffen and shrink away form him, refusing to so much as make eye contact. Byakuya swiftly invoked the power of Tetsuya's charm, slowing the poison that was working its way through Orochi's body, then he reached into the nightstand drawer and withdrew a dark colored pendant, focusing his reiatsu into it, then placing it gently around his husband's neck.

"This is a charm that will prevent you from being drawn into your inner world," Byakuya assured him, "It will keep you and our child safe until the child is born and we can face Kurohebi together."

"And why would you do that?" Orochi managed in a slightly shaking voice, "After our child is born, what use will you have for me? What makes me worth risking yourself?"

He made a sound of surprise as Byakuya's arms wrapped around him from behind, and soft, silken hair tickled his shoulder.

"You fought him when he was going to attack me," Byakuya reminded him, sending an unusual flush over his husband's face and throat, "You protected me, Orochi."

"Maybe I selfishly didn't want to see another zanpakutou destroyed by him," Orochi said sullenly, "Maybe it had nothing to do with it being you."

"Perhaps," Byakuya admitted, "But even so, this is the most human behavior I've seen from you."

He coaxed Orochi into turning towards him, then let his fingers tease the tangled strands of sweat dampened black hair.

"You are more like you used to be," Byakuya said more softly, caressing Orochi's face as his husband looked back at him, lost for words.

"I am nothing like that naïve little boy," Orochi countered wearily, "He was lost a long time ago."

"I know," Byakuya agreed, leaning forward and holding Orochi's tormented face in his hands as he kissed his husband lingeringly, "But the time is coming when you and I will find him again. Please trust me."

"One who needs to have faith in another to survive…is not deserving of survival," Orochi said woodenly, lowering his head onto Byakuya's shoulder, "I don't know why you insist on keeping me here. You may have been able to save Tetsuya, but you can't save everyone, Byakuya. Some people will be lost, no matter what you do."

Orochi stiffened as he was laid down on his back and Byakuya invaded his mouth more hungrily. He tried to object, but the tongue that slipped into his mouth and began to explore him, left him all too swiftly breathless.

Byakuya pulled free of him and shocked him again with a rare, fleeting smile.

"You underestimate me," he chided Orochi with unexpected gentleness, "But you always have. Now, I must leave you for a moment to bring the healer. We must eradicate that poison before it muddles your mind any more than it already has."

"It must be affecting me," Orochi mused, turning away again, "That is the only way that I would ever find myself wanting this much to believe in you."


	10. The Mirror of Me

**Chapter 10: The Mirror of Me**

 **(I've had so many requests for this, so I finally finished this chapter and will endeavor to keep the wait short for the next. Enjoy the chapter! Love, Spunky)**

Orochi heard muffled voices that sounded familiar, but oddly distant. He thought he might have heard someone calling his name. He tried to draw a breath, but found that it stung and made him choke violently. Strong hands grasped him by the shoulders and he could hear Tetsuya's worried voice saying something he couldn't make sense of. Something cool, soothing and painfully familiar filled his veins and he sank down into darkness and quiet again.

 _This is Tetsuya's ability_ , his muddled mind realized, _Kurohebi's poison must have been overwhelming me. Not that I want to die exactly, but I don't like having to rely on Tetsuya for something like this. By all rights, he should hate me enough to refuse to do anything for me. I was horrible to him. But then…I never learned how to properly love someone and Tetsuya couldn't ever hate anyone, not even a monster like me._

His spinning mind returned to the powerful and hopeful feel of Byakuya's kisses and his husband's promise to protect him.

 _It's really about the child, but to a soul who knows what it is like to be small and to have parents who failed to protect him…Byakuya is getting to me. And I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing. It is a relief to feel protected, but I won't be turned into a weakling._

He forced his eyes open and found them looking up into Tetsuya's widened and very worried looking sapphire orbs.

"Why are you l-looking at me like that, Tetsuya?" he managed in a shaky, rough whisper, "Why are you helping me?"

He spotted Byakuya at Tetsuya's side and read the deep worry in his husband's intense gaze.

"That was a stupid question," he chided himself, "You would save the devil, himself for our leader."

Byakuya and Tetsuya's faces seemed to flicker oddly, swirling in smoke-like mist that spun and flashed as Orochi's ears rang loudly. He couldn't be sure if his next words sounded out loud or only in his besieged mind.

"But then, I suppose it's natural to want to give back something to someone who protects you. I wish that…"

More of Tetsuya's power flooded his body and the faces looking down at him seemed to lose the bodies that they were attached to. Orochi struggled to remain awake, but couldn't help being lulled by the comforting feel of Tetsuya's gentle presence.

 _I hated myself for falling in love with Tetsuya. I knew it was wrong and I knew from the start that it would infuriate my bastard father and leave me in disgrace. It was a disaster waiting to happen and I couldn't stop myself from bringing it crashing down onto us. Even now, he is a temptation, maybe doubly so because I have been forced into marriage. Not that I blame Byakuya for that. Neither of us could help what those damned hollows did to us._

 _I just wish that…_

Tetsuya's voice suddenly reached him with painful clarity and Orochi cringed at the words and the gentle, sympathetic tone.

"He is crying, Byakuya-sama. He is in terrible pain! What can we do?"

"S-s-stop it!" Orochi hissed dazedly, staggering onto his feet and lunging at his cousin, "Don't y-you dare…pity me!"

Orochi felt Byakuya's strong arms wrap around him as he started to collapse and fall to the floor. His head pounded painfully and his breaths burned like fire in his chest. Blackness billowed up in front of his eyes and he couldn't move anymore as Byakuya lifted him and set him back in the bed. He felt soft restraints curl around his wrists, waist and ankles and writhed against them hatefully as Tetsuya's voice sounded again.

"Byakuya-sama, please, does he have to be bound?"

"He is dangerous in this state," Byakuya panted warningly, "both to the child and to himself. I am sorry."

Orochi quivered at the mention of the child he carried.

 _Children are small and weak. They need to be protected. The way I am, I can protect no one, not even myself. Who will protect this child if I can't?_

Orochi's black eyes opened and found that Byakuya had gone and Tetsuya was sitting quietly at his side, looking down at him through sleepy blue eyes.

"Why are you still here?" he asked unhappily, "You know you are the last person I want seeing me like this, Tetsuya."

"Your snake's poison was ravaging your systems," Tetsuya explained, "I was able to create a barrier within you to protect your child, but it was harder slowing the poison so that it could be counteracted. Byakuya-sama was exhausted and feeling ill after spending hours clearing it from your systems and he didn't want you left alone, so I offered to sit with you while he rested. I can wake your attendant if you wish and he can come to look after you. But you can't be left alone."

"In a moment," Orochi said, studying Tetsuya more closely, "I had heard that you were injured."

"I was taken to Shima Adobe and treated by Kurushimi-sama's sister," Tetsuya explained.

"Shima Kurushimi," Orochi repeated, "Sasune's runaway bride. I know him. I am sure he was very interested in you."

"Kurushimi-sama was…instrumental in my healing," Tetsuya said, blushing, "He insisted on escorting me home when I broke doctor's orders to return to Kuchiki Manor."

Orochi paused, thinking silently for a moment.

"You rushed back here because you heard about my forced marriage to Byakuya," he stated finally, Did you really think Byakuya needed your protection from me?"

"Orochi-san is…"

"It doesn't matter what I am…or, I should say _what I was_ ," Orochi said darkly, "I am forced to be his clan wife. You know exactly what position that puts me in."

"I know," Tetsuya agreed, eyeing Orochi's restraints apprehensively, "I just…anticipated that Orochi-san would not accept easily taking a more submissive role."

"Well, what did you expect I would do?" Orochi asked cynically, "With every elder's eye on me, do you really think I would even consider attempting to harm my husband?"

Tetsuya looked back at him with a conflicted expression.

"I…I don't know what I thought," he confessed softly, "But I do know now that I need not have worried."

"Oh? Why is that?"

Tetsuya considered his words carefully.

"While I was assisting you with my ability to slow poisons and Byakuya-sama helped Michio-san to counteract it, I noticed the way that Byakuya-sama touched you."

"The way he touched me?" Orochi repeated.

"Yes. He was gentle with you, the way that he was gentle with Hisana-sama when she was ill."

Orochi glowered at Tetsuya meaningfully.

"I don't need _anyone_ to be gentle with me," he said shortly.

"But you do."

Orochi scowled.

"Don't be ridiculous, Tetsuya. You, of all people, know what I am like. I…"

"I know what you _were_ like," Tetsuya corrected him, "and I know how Byakuya-sama felt about you. But I also have seen how those things have changed."

"So you say," Orochi said skeptically.

"Byakuya-sama is falling in love with you. It is in the way he looks and you and how he touches you, Orochi-san. And…while you were so ill and he was caring for you, Orochi-san was…"

Tetsuya paused, biting at his lips gently.

"I was _what_?" Orochi snapped impatiently.

Tetsuya gave him a little shy smile.

"Orochi-san was holding onto Byakuya-sama very tightly," Tetsuya answered.

"I was delirious," Orochi said off-handedly.

"You were in pain and he comforted you."

Orochi glared at Tetsuya, but gave no answer.

"I am…glad that someone is able to ease Orochi-san's pain and anger," Tetsuya went on, "I was wrong in thinking for so long that you needed someone weak and gentle to do that for you."

"What are you talking about? You're not making sense!" Orochi chided him.

"Orochi-san needed a strong partner who could make him feel safe."

"Then why did I choose you?" Orochi asked more quietly.

"You didn't love me and you didn't hate me," Tetsuya said calmly, "You were given the task of making sure I survived and you forced me to become stronger so that I would. Because of that, I did survive. But…Orochi-san doesn't love me. He never did."

Orochi looked back at Tetsuya in silence.

"There is only one person who has been able to reach Orochi-san's lonely heart."

Orochi's jaw stiffened and he looked away abruptly.

"You're delusional."

He caught his breath in surprise as Tetsuya's soft, cool hands suddenly released him from the restraints. Very slowly, he turned his gaze back on his blue-eyed cousin.

"You remember exactly the dimensions and the poor state of the cell that I inhabited with Naoki in Itamigiri," Tetsuya stated calmly, "You heard how I would lie in Naoki's embrace after being abused by you and I would cry…and the only thing that stopped my tears was when Naoki whispered to me that Byakuya-sama was going to come and free us."

"What is your point, Tetsuya?" Orochi asked wearily.

Tetsuya took a steadying breath.

"The cage around Orochi-san cannot be seen by our eyes," he went on, "and Orochi-san cries on the inside, only showing anger on the outside…but when Orochi-san is struggling and in pain now, there is only one thing that calms him."

Tetsuya made a sound of surprise and dismay as Orochi sat up and slipped his legs over the edge of the bed.

"Stop!" he objected, "You're not well enough to…!"

He went silent as Orochi pinned him firmly against the wall and assaulted his mouth with a hard, possessive kiss. Tetsuya shivered as a violent hissing sound erupted all around them, shattering the room's protective barrier, and his darker cousin disappeared into swirls of black smoke.

"You really don't know _anything_ , do you?" Orochi's voice echoed all around him.

Tetsuya watched in dismay as a dark flash seemed to burn the smoke away, leaving him standing alone in Byakuya's room. He couldn't move as Byakuya's footsteps approached and his leader's questioning eyes found his.

"Tetsuya, where is Orochi?" Byakuya asked sternly.

Tetsuya swallowed hard, his heart pounding and his lips still burning from Orochi's wicked kiss.

"I released him once he seemed lucid and calm, as you ordered," Tetsuya explained, "I know he still wears a limiter, but…"

"But there are some abilities, such as your abilities to breathe under water and to slow poisons, that do not require exchanges of reiatsu," Byakuya affirmed, "Kurohebi's connection with him allows him to assume snake form."

Byakuya looked out into the gardens with troubled eyes.

"Should we go after him?" Tetsuya asked worriedly.

Byakuya turned his powerful gaze on Tetsuya and noted immediately the flush and look of guilt that marked his cousin's expression.

"What is it, _watashi no itoko_?" he asked sternly, "What did Orochi do that upset you?"

Tetsuya looked back at him, lost for words.

"Tetsuya?"

Tetsuya gave Byakuya a look of distress.

"Byakuya-sama, Orochi kissed me," he confessed, "And when he kissed me, it felt like he was saying goodbye. And then, he disappeared!"

Byakuya's eyes darkened and his reiatsu flickered warningly.

"He is still very weak from Kurohebi's poison," Tetsuya persisted, "and he is suffering great emotional pain. I could feel it! Byakuya-sama, someone must help him! If not, he will…"

" _I_ will go to him," Byakuya answered firmly, placing a hand on his cousin's shoulder, "I think you know why it would not be good for you to accompany me."

Tetsuya's eyes flared with internal pain, but he gave no reply. He only nodded in acknowledgement and stepped back as Byakuya turned out of the room. Tetsuya held his breath and closed his eyes, reeling as his mind replayed the desperation he had felt in Orochi's hands that held him, and in the lips that had possessed his. He took a steadying breath and left the bedroom, walking out into the gardens, where he found Shima Kurushimi standing under a blossoming plum tree at the edge of the moonlit koi pond.

"Tetsu-hana," the Shima leader greeted him, "Byakurai asked me to escort you back to your room. He knows you are still recovering from your injuries and the use of your divine power."

Tetsuya's gaze dropped and he looked sadly down at the moon's reflection in the water.

"I don't need an escort. I will be fine. Please leave me," Tetsuya said softly.

Kuri gave him a bracing smile.

"Don't be that way, Tetsu-hana. Anyone can see that Snake-san has gotten under your skin. It's nothing to be embarrassed about. Snakes are crafty things."

"But he wasn't being crafty," Tetsuya said softly, "I know when Orochi is trying to manipulate me. It wasn't like that at all. There is something different about him now that he is bound to Byakuya-sama. There is something very strong between them."

"You know it's just that the hollows…"

"I know what the hollows did to them," Tetsuya said firmly, "But that only forced him to marry Byakuya-sama and to assume a submissive role as his clan wife. It doesn't explain how he became vulnerable to Kurohebi's poison or why he clung so tightly to Byakuya-sama when he was in distress."

Kuri huffed out a soft, agitated breath.

"Tetsu-hana, please don't argue with me that Snake-san is having something resembling human feelings. You saw what form he took when he slithered away. I don't think it gets any clearer than that. The man is not human."

"He cries human tears," Tetsuya said sadly, "The truth is that I always knew that Orochi-san's anger must come from something very bad in his past."

"That does not excuse what he did to you," Kuri said, frowning, "Tetsu-hana…we all have pain in our past, but we do not need to be taking our pain out on gentler people."

"You mean _weaker_ people," Tetsuya corrected him.

"You are not weak, Tetsu-hana."

"I _was_ weak," Tetsuya countered, "I was small, weak, without powers and without parents to protect me. All I had was Naoki, and he couldn't protect me anymore than I could protect myself. Orochi tormented me, but even though he hurt me, he would not let anyone else touch me. And even though he made me cry and he made me fear him, Orochi told me with his own words how to bear pain proudly and how to endure through the worst of it. It was so strange at the time. I thought of him as a cruel man, and he is cruel. But when I look back, I see that in his own twisted way, Orochi was protecting me from death and teaching me to survive in a dangerous, wicked world where I had been left alone."

"That still does not excuse what he did to you," Kuri said skeptically, "And I think Byakurai is right to keep you away from him. Not just because he is not good for you, but because it is better for him to have his husband care for his needs."

Tetsuya's eyes narrowed and his lips quirked.

"Since when does Kuri-kuri-sama concern himself with what is best for the man he calls Snake-san? _I_ think that you are just interested in keeping my attention on _you_."

Kurushimi laughed softly and slipped his arms around Tetsuya.

"Amazing! You see right through me. But, is that such a bad thing, to want to be close to you, Tetsu-hana?" he sighed.

"If it was," Tetsuya said, "I would be trying to escape."

Kuri grinned charmingly and curved a palm around Tetsuya's soft cheek.

"I am very glad to see that you are not."

XXXXXXXXXX

Orochi's serpentine form slid forward, out of a grove of trees and into a large, starlit clearing. He focused briefly and his slender form shimmered and slowly resolved into his shinigami body. Still barefoot and dressed only in his black silk sleeping yukata, he paused at the shattered gates at the entrance to the abandoned fortress that had once been known as Itamigiri. He passed into the courtyard, staring in surprise as his gaze fell on the tumbled and badly burned debris that occupied the place where the prison had been.

 _The escaping guards made sure to burn any information that Byakuya's team might find and use against them. But even though fire ravaged the inside in some areas, the prison was still standing, and it remained for many years. I wonder…what happened…?_

He moved forward, noting that there was still the dull scent of fire in the air, and that some of the broken brick bore traces of destructive reiatsu. A moment later, he recognized the reiatsu signature.

 _My father?_

 _But, why?_

 _He never set foot in the prison. He didn't approve of me accepting the assignment to scout for Byakuya's team. He disliked the situation even more when the rumors reached him about what I was doing here…and how fixated I was on Tetsuya._

 _I suppose this destruction does make sense then. And it suggests that even though he was so distant with me and took everything way from me after I was forced to marry Byakuya, that he did have some regrets about turning his back on me and taking Kurohebi from me._

 _I still despise him._

Orochi heard the sound of a flash step, then felt Byakuya's presence behind him. He stood quietly, gazing at the wreckage of the prison and wearing a lost expression. Byakuya moved to his side, saying nothing at first and observing Orochi closely.

"Tell me why?" he asked finally, "Why did you come here? Was it because you are still in love with Tetsuya?"

"I was never in love with that filthy little…"

"Enough," Byakuya chided him, "I do not want to hear any more lies. I know that you are struggling with your feelings for him. That is why you kissed him, and it is why, when you were given an opening, you came to this place, where you and Tetsuya first met."

Byakuya paused, considering his words carefully.

"Are you all right?"

"Not remotely," Orochi answered dryly, "If I was, do you think I would have come here, of all places? Nothing but disaster was ever spawned here."

"And where will you go now?" Byakuya asked.

Orochi sighed resignedly.

"I suppose I will go wherever you order me to go," he answered distantly, "I don't think I have a choice, given that I still have no reiatsu based powers and I also have no right to decide my own fate."

Byakuya moved to stand in front of Orochi, blocking his view of the ruined prison. Orochi looked back at him in silence.

"You seem uncomfortable at Kuchiki Manor," Byakuya decided, "and I think that you need a quiet place to reflect on everything that has happened. As it happens, we are not far from Sakura no Kaiyou, the…"

"The estate where you were born," Orochi supplied.

"Yes. We can go there and I will only call upon a few staff members to assist us. You will have the peace and quiet that you need for reflection and the two of us can attempt to confront whatever is tormenting you."

"I assume that Tetsuya and that Shima leader will not be there?" Orochi inquired.

"No," Byakuya assured him, "They needn't be part of this. It is between you and me."

"So it is," Orochi agreed, "and between you and me, I don't think it will make a difference if we are here or there. There is no magic answer that will undo what has happened to us. We will still be forced into this marriage and I will still be carrying a child, like a woman. Nothing in my life will ever go back to being the way it was."

Orochi went suddenly silent as Byakuya's hands touched the sides of his face and his lips touched Orochi's gently.

"No, it will not," Byakuya answered, "But, you were not truly happy with the way things were, _anata_ , so there is the chance that things will instead be better."

Byakuya felt a little jolt in his belly at the pain that reflected in Orochi's eyes. That feeling deepened as he spotted a change at the edges of his husband's black orbs that had inexplicably begun to lighten.

"I find that a slim chance at best," Orochi answered, "But I have no idea where else to go. My father doesn't want me in his house and there are too many bad memories there, anyway. I could take snake form, but even though it does not require a reiatsu exchange, I find it uncomfortable because it puts me in touch with Kurohebi's soul."

"Then come with me to Sakura no Kaiyou," Byakuya invited him, capturing Orochi's hand in his, "I think you will find it peaceful there."

Orochi shook his head and sighed unhappily, but he accepted his husband's hand and followed quietly, his dark heart sinking into a deeper melancholy.

 _Byakuya, why couldn't you just have let me die?_


	11. Unchained

**Chapter 11: Unchained**

 **(Happy Thanksgiving to those celebrating today! :) This one's for Starliex, who is being extremely patient while I work at refining the plot of In The Darkness Part 2. I should have more of that before too much longer. In the meantime, enjoy! Love to all, Spunky)**

A swell of nausea brought Orochi out of a sound sleep and he opened his dark eyes and fixed them on his husband's calm sleeping face. He wriggled free carefully, trying not to wake Byakuya and was mildly surprised at succeeding.

 _He usually wakes much more easily._

Orochi waved off his watchful attendant and ran into the bathroom, where he expelled the sickness, then sat, still and silent, while his attendant gently washed his face and gave him cool water to rinse his mouth.

"Thank you, Shoma."

"Orochi-sama doesn't need to thank me," Shoma answered, helping his master to his feet, "I am glad to assist you."

Orochi sighed and started back into the bedroom, but paused a moment later and turned back to face his longtime servant. Shoma looked back at him questioningly.

"Sir?" he inquired softly.

"Shoma, I want you to tell me something honestly," Orochi requested, "I will give you my word that I will not be angry with you, no matter how you answer. Can you be completely honest with me?"

Shoma looked back at him with an anxious expression.

"S-sir, I will try."

Orochi nodded.

"You have been my attendant since we were both children. We grew up together. You were always in the background and I know you saw the things that happened to me to make me the person I am."

Shoma swallowed hard and nodded back.

"Do you think I am evil?"

Shoma laughed nervously.

"Orochi-sama, what kind of a question is that?" he asked, "Certainly, you have done some evil things, and most people would say that you are evil, but…"

"But you don't think I am?" Orochi persisted, "Because, in all honesty, I was convinced that Kurohebi filled me with wickedness."

Shoma's slender body shivered in reaction as his mind was haunted with the memory of the bonding of Orochi with the demon snake spirit. He closed his eyes against the echoing sound of his master's desperate screams and his face paled.

"It is Kurohebi that is wicked," Shoma answered finally, "Orochi-sama was poisoned."

He opened his eyes again, a little smile touching his lips at seeing Orochi's surprised expression.

"But…with Byakuya-sama's help, the poison is leaving you."

"You think so?" Orochi asked wearily, "Because I don't know if that's true."

Orochi gazed at his attendant curiously as Shoma extended a hand. Very slowly, he accepted and allowed the attendant to position him in front of the full length mirror in the dressing area.

"Look closely," Shoma suggested, "Look at your eyes."

Orochi frowned and stepped closer to the mirror, his eyes fixed on their own reflection and widening as he spotted the much lighter color around the edges.

"Orochi-sama's eyes were once blue," Shoma remembered, "I cry when I remember the day that Kurohebi made them turn black and frightening. But finally, he begins to leave you, and your eyes are turning blue again, little by little."

Orochi tried to say something flippant, but his words froze in his throat as Shoma's shaky hand wrapped around his forearm.

"Orochi-sama, I know that you are confused right now, and you are sad. But Byakuya-sama is helping you. You should keep on letting him do that. I want very much for you to be free of Kurohebi's poison. I want you to be happy again. I want you to be able to feel Byakuya-sama's love."

"Byakuya doesn't love me," Orochi said tonelessly.

He knew instantly that his own words were a lie. Byakuya's handsome face appeared in his mind and Orochi recalled the word he had used for the first time the day before.

" _Nothing in my life will ever go back to being the way it was."_

 _Orochi went suddenly silent as Byakuya's hands touched the sides of his face and his lips touched Orochi's gently._

 _"No, it will not," Byakuya answered, "But, you were not truly happy with the way things were, anata, so there is the chance that things will instead be better."_

" _Anata_ ," Orochi repeated softly.

 _I almost missed it when he said it. It was an endearment, and it was the first time he ever used it when speaking to me. Could Shoma be right? Could it be more than Byakuya simply making the best of things? Could Byakuya truly be falling in love…with me?_

Orochi heard a telling footstep and looked into the mirror as Byakuya entered the dressing area.

"Shoma, you will please excuse us," Byakuya said quietly.

"Of course, sir," Shoma answered, bowing and exiting the dressing area.

Orochi remained silent, his eyes fixed on the reflection of Byakuya's and watching as his husband returned his gaze.

"Are you all right?" Byakuya asked, after a moment.

"I am fine. I was nauseous."

Byakuya took up a position behind Orochi and slipped his arms around his husband to undo the tie at his waist. Orochi's eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the more pronounced bump on his abdomen. Wordlessly, Byakuya laid his hands on the swollen area, infusing it with is reiatsu. Almost instantly, the nagging feeling of illness began to leave Orochi's body. He watched in silence as the infusion slowly vanquished all of his discomfort, while leaving his uncovered nether region visibly aroused. He caught his breath in a little hiss as his eyes caught Byakuya's looking down at his exposed genitals, then he felt the hand that was still rested on his belly slide downward. Orochi started to speak but was immediately silenced as Byakuya's other hand captured his face and turned his head so that their lips crashed together warmly. Byakuya's mouth opened, and his tongue forced its way between Orochi's parted lips, plunging in and snaking its way along his. And while Byakuya kissed him, the hand between his thighs moved slowly, exploring everywhere before honing in on that place of greatest need and caressing him firmly.

Byakuya's other hand trailed down the length of his exposed body, continuing to explore, then shifting to begin preparing him for their joining. An erotic moan escaped Orochi's flushed lips as Byakuya's suddenly freed them and his body nudged Orochi closer to the mirror. Strong hands grasped Orochi's wrists, guiding them upward as the air began to glow pink with Byakuya's power and long, gleaming sakura ropes formed and wrapped themselves around his limbs, binding his hands to the clothing hooks on the wall on either side of the mirror, then lashing his ankles and spreading his thighs scandalously. He moaned more wantonly as Byakuya pressed up against his back, one arm wrapping around his waist, while the other hand positioned him for entry.

"You asked Shoma if he thought you were evil," Byakuya's voice rumbled in his ear, bringing a rare blush onto his face and throat, "You shouldn't have been asking him. He doesn't know the answer to that question. Neither does Tetsuya or your father or brother, and neither do I. There is only one person who can know the full contents of your heart, _anata_. Look into his eyes now, and find your answers there!"

Orochi gasped, but forced his eyes to stay open and focused as Byakuya's body joined roughly with his trapped and bound one.

 _Is this love or does he mean to punish me? Am I his lover or am I the dark prince that everyone thought I was? I don't even know anymore!_

Byakuya's strong hands gripped his hips tightly and Orochi strained against the sakura bonds, arching his back and writhing against his husband. His eyes remained fixed on their reflection and he couldn't help but suffer hard twinges inside at his own passionate expression, at the longing that made his heart ache fiercely.

 _Is he just taking what he wants from me or is Byakuya giving me my heart's desire?_

He caught a glimpse of Byakuya's smoky, aroused glare and felt his insides melt. He writhed harder against his husband, meeting Byakuya's thrusts readily and every time wanting him to reach deeper, down inside, to find the heart that Kurohebi made as black as his eyes…yes, to find it and make it warm and full and alive again. And with every hard undulation, he saw the darkness in his eyes fade more, gradually giving way into a deep, midnight blue. His heart ached and stung until tears ran down his face, and he wanted to hide it, but when he tried to look away from the mirror, Byakuya only captured his face and turned it back. He was forced to watch as burgeoning pleasure made him stiffen and unholy sounds escaped his trembling lips.

"You are beautiful, Orochi."

The tenderness in the words undid him completely, making him howl and tear at his bonds until they shattered. They climaxed violently together and Byakuya sank slowly with him to the floor, holding him tightly as realization made Orochi's bare and sweat misted chest heave with hard, silent sobs.

 _Why is kindness so painful?_

 _Why does love hurt?_

"I don't know what is wrong with me," he confessed, stiffening his lips and trying to duck aside as Byakuya ran warm fingers through his hair and caressed his cheek. "You must think I'm insane."

"No," Byakuya chided him quietly, "You are not insane, Orochi. You are having our child…and I am falling more and more in love with the two of you every day."

"Will you _stop_ …please?" Orochi said in a low, controlled voice, "You can't love someone who has done the things I have. Kurohebi's presence might make my behavior understandable, but it does not make it excusable. I beat and raped Tetsuya and others at the prison. I have lied and manipulated everyone around me. My own attendant couldn't tell you whether he loves me or if he only pities me because he knows exactly what Kurohebi did to me. I can't even tell you whether the blackness all came from that snake or if some was just waiting inside me to be freed by him."

He fixed his midnight eyes on Byakuya and shook his head firmly.

"You love this child because you have long wanted to be a father, Byakuya. You accept me because we are bonded and that can't be changed."

"That may have been true at first," Byakuya admitted, finding Orochi's hand and lacing their fingers together, "But you have changed since we were bonded. You have faced Kurohebi and begun to undo some of that darkness. That you have rejected him and fought him, even in your current condition is a testament to who you actually are. I don't think anyone really knows that right now…not even you."

Orochi absorbed his words, then loosed a heavy sigh and closed his eyes.

"I am not Tetsuya," he said woodenly, "I am weak right now, but I will never have gentleness like he does."

He paused to consider his words carefully.

"Byakuya, I begin to understand why I hated Tetsuya…why I hated him and treated him with such cruelty."

"And why is that?"

"It wasn't that he was a half-blood, or that he was beautiful to me. It wasn't that I liked crushing his innocence or his spirit. The truth is, when I looked at Tetsuya, I did not desire him. I did not love him. I did not even see him. I saw myself. That boy that was crushed between my father and the snake spirit that haunts us. My father hated the weakness that made me cry for my lost zanpakuto, that made me resist Kurohebi's incursion into my body. And while I was praying that my strong, loving father would save me, he was the one that held me down and urged me to accept everything because it would make me stronger. And though I knew it was wrong, that was what I inflicted on Tetsuya."

Byakuya remained silent as his husband took a dragging breath and continued.

"Maybe it was that I hated myself for not being strong enough to resist. And every time I inflicted my wrath on Tetsuya and saw him cry, I tried to tell myself that there was nothing I could have done, that fighting wouldn't have saved me, and that no one would have come for me. But always, Tetsuya invoked your name and when the time came, you were there for him. It made me hate him even more as I watched you care for him and help him grow his power. Eika was just a shard in my heart that whole time as I secretly wished that you could have come for me too!"

"But you and I were both children when you were bonded with Kurohebi against your will. And sadly, there was no one there to protect you from what happened."

"I've been confused about my emotions when it comes to Tetsuya. I thought it was enjoyable to hurt him. Then, I thought I was in love. Now, I think it's just that looking at him makes me hurt for my own failures and oddly, I think I deserve that pain."

"No one deserves what was done to you, Orochi," Byakuya said firmly, "Your heart was broken and your own power stolen with the help of one who should have protected you. But while I was not there for you before, I can be here for you now."

"Because our bonding forces you," Orochi concluded.

He went silent and stared as Byakuya grabbed his face in both hands.

"It doesn't matter why anymore!" he snapped, "I _will_ be there for you. You don't have to face Kurohebi's wickedness alone!"

"I barely feel him anymore," Orochi sighed wearily, "It's getting harder to feel anything."

"That is because you are overcoming him," Byakuya said sternly, "You are growing the strength it will take to destroy him. Orochi…"

Byakuya broke off as Orochi flinched and suddenly stiffened.

"What is it?" Byakuya asked, an edge of urgency in his voice.

"I don't know," Orochi admitted, placing a hand over his heart and gazing into his eyes in the mirror, "I felt something sort of breaking inside me. I don't know, but I feel like something important has happened. I…"

He broke off, gasping in shock as the very faint sound of a feminine whisper sounded in his mind.

 _Master?_

Orochi's eyes burned and his heart stung at the sound.

"What is it, Orochi?" Byakuya demanded, "What is happening?"

"It is Eika," Orochi answered unsteadily, "She is still weak and broken, but…I feel her connection with me reopening!"

Byakuya gave him an encouraging smile.

"This is good, is it not?" he asked, "It means that…"

Orochi's expression grew haunted.

"Byakuya," Orochi said darkly, "Kurohebi has released her. Well, he has released what is left of her. It may be good for me, but it is bad also."

"Why?" asked Byakuya, "You do not want to be free of the snake spirit?"

"I do," answered Orochi, "but remember that Kurohebi depends on his master's blood and reiatsu to sustain his power. It is the contract that my ancestor made with him. And the only reason he would free Eika is because he has been bonded with another master!"

Orochi's face paled.

"Your father?" Byakuya inquired.

Orochi shook his head firmly.

"My father would not survive a second connection with him," he explained, "Remember, though, that my father took the sword from me. I think that he has performed the connection ritual with my brother…with Yuu!"

"It would not be surprising," Byakuya concluded, "He took everything else from you…"

"And when I refused to kill you and the child I am bearing to steal leadership for our subfamily, I infuriated him. My brother is older than I was when I was bonded with Kurohebi. Yuu knew from me that it is a dubious honor, and I know that he didn't want to ever be bonded like that. My father forced him also."

"Are you sure?"

"My brother and I had our differences, but I know he didn't want this. He was forced."

Byakuya's hand squeezed Orochi's gently.

"We will still destroy that snake spirit when you have had our child. We will find a way, I promise you. Nothing has changed, just because it is your brother who is threatened and not you."

"But something has," Orochi said more softly.

Byakuya gave him a questioning look.

"When Kurohebi is passed honorably from one master to the next, he is mollified by the gift of strong, youthful reiatsu. When he is passed from a dishonored master to a new one, he will require the new master to kill the former."

Byakuya's grey eyes widened.

"Kurohebi will…?"

"He will require Yuu to kill me. And Yuu will have to choose between this and horrid punishment. He will not kill my brother until a new child comes to replace him, but he will hurt Yuu."

"But he must know that if your brother makes an attempt on your life now, while you carry your leader's child, he will be given a death sentence. Kurohebi will die too."

Orochi nodded tentatively.

"He will wait until the child comes."

Byakuya helped Orochi to his feet and wrapped a warm yukata around him.

"Then, that is how long we have to make you able to destroy Kurohebi."

"How will we do that?" Orochi asked defeatedly, "I have no powers to train. Even if I wasn't limited by my gestation, Eika will take a long time to heal."

"Let me worry about that," Byakuya chided him, "Come, we will bathe and you will rest. And when you are rested, we will go and see Urahara Kisuke."


	12. The Brotherhood

**Chapter 12: The Brotherhood**

 **(And the delicious Byakuya-fest goes on with Byakuya/Orochi! Enjoy!)**

Orochi stood quietly in the gardens of Sakura no Kaiyou, gazing blindly into one of the koi ponds, his mind in disarray he kept carefully concealed beneath the surface of his increasingly bluer eyes. He sensed Byakuya was still in their bedroom, standing in the dressing area with Torio attending him as he prepared for a meeting of council.

 _I need to speak to Yuu. I know that Byakuya would think it too dangerous, but even though Kurohebi will be marking me for death, he will not incite Yuu to strike until after the birth of the heir. Father will be at the council meeting. But, given that he has only just transitioned Yuu to be Kurohebi's master, Yuu will be in no state to attend. And mother will probably be in her room, crying. Even if she senses me, she will not mention to father that I was there. I must go while this window of opportunity exists._

He felt Byakuya's reiatsu growing closer and turned his head slightly, looking at his husband out of the corner of an eye.

"You are leaving then?" he inquired.

"I am. There are some pressing matters of council that I must deal with. I have delayed as long as I could," Byakuya informed him, "You will be safe with the staff here. And I will be back as soon as possible."

"Don't worry so much," Orochi sighed, "I told you no one will try to kill me until you have your heir."

He blinked in surprise as Byakuya's fingers captured him under the chin and lifted it, making their eyes meet. He said nothing, but Orochi felt oddly intense emotion in the look his husband gave him before leaning forward to engage him in a warm, firm kiss of parting.

"Stay here. Wait for me," Byakuya whispered in his ear, his breath tickling the sensitive lobe and making it blush, "I will not be long. When I return, we will leave for Karakura Town to see Urahara Kisuke."

Orochi carefully said nothing and gave Byakuya a stiff nod.

"I know you are concerned for your brother. We will certainly do whatever it takes to free him. You do trust me, don't you?"

"I do," Orochi said, lowering his eyes as Byakuya released him, "I trust you."

 _I trust you, but I need to see my brother. I remember how it felt when Eika was freshly ripped away from me and supplanted with Kurohebi. I need to go to him. And I know you wouldn't understand that._

Orochi's midnight blue eyes looked down into the koi pond. He watched the fish swim in slow patterns, observing out of the corner of an eye as Byakuya mounted his paint stallion and rode away. He waited until he was sure his husband was out of sensing range before slipping into the trees and eluding his attendant.

 _For the most part, I will need to conserve energy. My reiatsu is still shaky and my powers are under the limiter during the gestation period. I won't be able to fight at all. But with my father in council and Yuu probably collapsed and recovering, I shouldn't need to._

Orochi tested his flash step and sighed in relief at finding it usable. He hurried then, back into the Seireitei and to the large estate that had been his childhood home. As he arrived at the back entry, he spotted the house guards and swiftly attacked them from behind, disabling them easily before flash stepping to the house and slipping inside. He felt his brother's riled reiatsu at once and turned in the direction of Yuu's bedroom. But as he started down the dark hallway, he found himself drawn to the room that had been his.

Orochi pushed the door open and froze in the entry, staring at the freshly made bed and tasteful décor that showed no sign of him ever having been there. A feeling of sickness passed through his insides.

 _I shouldn't let this bother me. He is a horrible man anyway. Mother will have been beside herself. And as usual, I was not able to help her. I always felt that way. I was never there for her, even though she stood up for me, even when it meant he would abuse her._

 _Why?_

Orochi stiffened as a soft hand came to rest on the back of his shoulder.

"Mother."

He turned to face her and felt a deep swell of rage and hatred well up at the sight of the fresh bruises and the cut under one blue eye. Maria smiled up at him and touched his face.

"Orochi, you have…come home?" she asked, "Yuu will be so happy you are here."

She paused uncertainly and tears leaked from her eyes and ran down her bruised face.

"Yuu…he is…in his room, resting."

"I know," Orochi answered, reaching out and resting his fingertips on one of the dark markings on her face.

 _I don't really have the power to spare, but…I can't leave her in pain. Although, whatever I heal, he will mark again. He is an unimaginable monster._

 _And I was becoming just like him._

 _What he did to her, I did to Tetsuya. I tried to love Tetsuya, but Kurohebi had poisoned me inside and my father had further poisoned my mind. I should have been protecting Tetsuya. I should have protected her. But I was black inside and soulless…made that way by the proud legacy of that demon snake._

"Oh, that's nothing," Maria said, laying her hand on his, "It doesn't hurt."

"Shh," he chided her, caressing her cheek gently, "He shouldn't have laid hands on you."

"I am his wife," Maria whispered, blinking as her son's healing power erased one of the markings and began work on a second, "You know what that means, especially now, don't you? Isas says that Byakuya has you tortured because he hates you so."

"That isn't true," Orochi objected softly, continuing to heal her, "Byakuya and I love each other. We didn't, at first. But…he has helped me to fight Kurohebi. He has protected me, and the child I carry."

"Oh!" Maria exclaimed, reaching down and brushing a warm palm lightly over the pronounced bump on his lower abdomen, "Oh…this is my grandchild!"

She shivered involuntarily and closed her eyes for a moment.

"Mother?" Orochi whispered, leaning forward to rest his chin on the top of her head.

"Isas won't let us even talk about you," Maria sobbed softly, "And he says that we won't acknowledge the baby as a member of our family. I tried to reason with him, but it only made him angry."

 _He should be glad he isn't here. Even with my powers barely working and weak reiatsu, I would find a way to destroy him for this!_

"I am sorry."

"For what?" Maria asked.

Orochi's hands curved around her face and he gazed sadly into her shattered eyes.

"For letting this happen to you," he answered, pressing his lips to her forehead, "We should have left this place a long time ago. We should have left him."

"We couldn't leave," Maria countered, shaking her head and squeezing his hand, "I was given to him in marriage, and I had no right to take you with me. The clan would have sided with him and they would have taken you and your brother away from me."

"Then, I should have been strong enough to stop it!" Orochi hissed furiously, making her flinch in reaction.

Orochi's eyes softened and he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"Don't be afraid of me. Even when Kurohebi was inside me, he knew I would not ever hurt you. I am sorry if my anger upset you, but this isn't right. I should have stood up to him and to that damned snake spirit. If I had, none of this would have happened."

"Don't blame yourself, _segare_. You were just a small boy when he bound you to that demon spirit. If anything, I should have protected you. I was weak and couldn't help you, just as I can't help Yuu now. He is…crushed. He is like you were."

"He is in his room?" Orochi inquired, stepping back from Maria.

Maria nodded.

"He is very weak, because he is still adjusting. But, you can go in and see him. Just, Orochi, you must leave before your father comes home. If he sees you here, who knows what he will do?"

"We will talk about all of that after I see my brother."

Orochi stepped out of his former bedroom and continued down the hallway as Maria stood back and covered her mouth with one hand, letting more tears slide down her face. He moved quickly to the door to his brother's room and opened it. A servant sitting beside the bed looked up and his eyes widened in shock.

"Y-you can't be here!" he gasped.

"I will only be here for a few minutes," Orochi said sternly, "Don't interfere with us. Go and see to my mother. She is upset."

"V-very well," the servant said in a scared voice as he stood and prepared to escape the room, "I will take care of her. Please be brief. Isas-sama gave strict orders…"

"I know. Go."

Orochi moved forward and sat down beside the bed. He looked down at his barely conscious brother's sweating face and wide, senseless eyes and slipped a hand into his.

"Yuu."

His brother's eyes blinked and tried to focus on him.

"I am sorry that he did this to you," Orochi apologized, "It never should have happened."

Yuu's mouth opened and he panted out a few unintelligible words before closing his eyes again. Orochi brought his brother's damp hand to his cheek and bowed his head, closing his eyes.

 _Having regretsssss?_ Kurohebi's malevolent voice hissed in his mind, _Do you sssssee now the prissssse for you defianssssse? But you will pay for that, I promissssse you, dissssshonored one. You…will die._

Orochi stiffened.

 _You are the one who is going to die, demon worm!_

Orochi startled as Yuu's eyes flew open wide and his face took on an expression of pure hatred.

"Why are you here?" his brother demanded, his obsidian eyes sparking dangerously, "You are not allowed to be here! You are a disgrace! A disgrace to the family! Do you hear me?"

He grabbed the front of Orochi's yukata, snarling and shoving him backwards, so that they tumbled to the floor.

"Yuu!" Orochi exclaimed, leaning over his brother as Yuu panted and groaned, trying to regain control.

"O-orochi… _nii-san_ …p-please go!" he panted shakily, "I don't w-want to…it…he will…"

"It's all right," Orochi soothed him, rubbing his brother's hand, "He won't order you to kill me yet. And I promise you, by the time he does, I will be strong enough to kill him. I will free you, _otouto_."

Orochi looked up as a loud male voice sounded in the hallway and Maria's rose up into a wail of fear and warning. Approaching footsteps sounded and Orochi lifted Yuu back into bed, then turned to face his enraged father as Isas burst into the room.

"Get away from him! Get out of here, you pathetic weakling!" Isas seethed, "You are no longer a member of this household and you are not welcome here! GET OUT!"

His reiatsu swirled in a storm around him and Orochi stepped back, staring as Isas closed in on him.

"You are a complete disappointment!" Isas seethed, "I gave you _everything_!"

"You poisoned me with that demon spirit, you miserable _bastard_!" Orochi shouted, "You let it devour my own sword, my rightful power!"

"What power? Your sword was no match for Kurohebi," Isas spat, "And if you had served well, you would have gotten that power back when you inducted your own son."

"I would never do that to _anyone_ , let alone my own son!" Orochi said scathingly.

"That is because you are a miserable, cowardly weakling! You don't deserve the power of the snake. And once you drop that little brat in your belly, Yuu will come and carve you to pieces, just as you deserve!"

"Yuu won't be like you," Orochi said, glancing down at his brother's discomfited expression, "He has too much heart, which is to say that you have none!"

"Insolent child!" Isas raged, leaping at him and striking hard.

Orochi moved aside, carefully redirecting the attack so that it struck the wall and missed both Yuu and him. Isas attacked again as Maria burst into the room, screaming in terror for her sons and throwing herself between Isas and Orochi. Orochi paused, but Isas struck her on the back of the head, sending her crashing to the floor.

"Mother!" Orochi gasped, falling onto his knees at her side and shielding her as Isas closed in on them.

"I have had enough of both of you! You can both die!" he hissed, taking point blank aim on the two and intensifying his reiatsu in preparation to attack.

But as the power left his hands and bore down on them, a swirl of pink petal blades forced its way between them, stopping Isas in his tracks and forcing him back as Byakuya flash stepped into the room. He took up a protective stance at Orochi's side, and a moment later, Tetsuya and Shima Kurushimi appeared as well.

"Take them out to the horses and get them ready to go," Byakuya directed the others, "I will speak to Councilor Isas alone for a moment."

"Just don't turn your back or you may get stabbed in it," Kuri said, scowling.

"Please go and take Yuu-san to the horses," Tetsuya said, stepping between Kuri and the angry subfamily leader, "I will bring Maria-san. Orochi-sama, are you well enough to walk to the horses?"

"I am fine," Orochi said shortly, lifting Maria's unconscious form, "I will take care of my mother."

Tetsuya nodded and took up a protective stance as the others left. He waited in the doorway as Byakuya faced Isas, holding Senbonzakura ready.

"You have no right interfering with my family!" Isas seethed, "Yuu is my heir. You can't take him out of my house without…"

"I could not take him unless there was clear evidence of a dangerous environment in your home," Byakuya finished, "I would say that since you attacked both your unarmed wife and your pregnant firstborn, the atmosphere in your home is toxic and all of your family is in danger from you."

"You are delusional!" Isas raged, "You will never get away with this!"

"Enough!" Byakuya warned him, making the pink petals float threateningly in the air all around them, "You are not to approach Maria or your two sons until a full council review of the situation has been completed. Until then, they are in my custody, and I will protect them from your foul temper and wickedness!"

"You are overstepping and you know it!" Isas accused him as Byakuya turned away, "The legacy of the snake god is mythic!"

Byakuya remained facing away, his petals still swirling around him.

"That your ancestor allowed a demon to bond with him was a stupid and reckless thing to do. Kurohebi is foul and destructive. Orochi is going to face him and he will kill that demon thing!"

"You think so?" Isas taunted him, "That poor excuse for a man? I don't think so. Your little clan wife is going to be torn apart by that spirit. Kurohebi does not tolerate weakness or disloyalty!"

"Since when did your proud subfamily become subservient to a snake?" Byakuya said in a disgusted tone, "I am done wasting time with you. Don't come near any of them, or you will answer to me!"

Byakuya flash stepped out the door and down the hallway, exiting the mansion and moving to join the others where the spirit steeds waited. He found Tetsuya astride Arashi, holding Maria in his arms. A dazed Yuu sat in front of Kuri on the Shima leader's stallion, Ambrosio, and Orochi waited silently on Ikazuchi's back. Byakuya mounted behind Orochi and wrapped his arms around his husband's waist.

"I told you to wait for me," he chided Orochi, "You could have asked me to come here with you to free your family, _anata_. When will you learn that you can trust me?"

"I don't know if I can really trust anyone," Orochi said wearily, "Look at what I grew up with."

"I understand," Byakuya said, rubbing his husband's belly gently and infusing the area with his reiatsu, "But I think I have made it clear that I will support you. Whatever you need…"

Tears burned in Orochi's eyes and he turned his head to hide his face from the ones on the other horses.

"Just make sure that my mother never goes back to him. No matter what she says, no matter what he does to try to lure her, don't let her go back. She has suffered too much. She never should have married him!"

"You are a high ranking member of the main branch of the family," Byakuya reminded him, "and you witnessed him abusing her, ne?"

"Yes."

"Then, there is probable cause for me to take custody of both your mother and your brother. I will only recommend that we have Yuu closely watched because of his connection with Kurohebi."

"That is understandable."

"I am glad you are willing to listen to reason," Byakuya said, squeezing his hand.

"Thank you, Byakuya," Orochi sighed sleepily, leaning back into Byakuya's embrace and closing his eyes as Ikazuchi carried them back to Sakura no Kaiyou, "I am grateful."


	13. New Skin

**Chapter 13: New Skin**

Orochi stood at the glass double doors that led onto the balcony, outside the bedroom he shared with Byakuya. He sipped intermittently at the soothing tea that his attendant had provided as he watched the falling rain and pondered what had happened at his old home. His heart ached painfully at remembering the room that had once been his, but had been changed to hide any sign of his ever inhabiting it.

 _I always knew that the love he professed for me was only skin deep. He didn't need to love or protect me with his whole heart. Now that he has written me off, he gives Yuu more of himself. He has no other children to depend on…to carry on the horrid legacy that he holds in such high regard._

"Orochi-sama," Tetsuya's voice spoke from the doorway.

Orochi turned and couldn't hold back a scowl as he spotted Tetsuya, flanked by Shima Kurushimi, standing in his room. Tetsuya read his expression and turned to the Shima leader.

"Will you please wait for me outside?" he requested, "I must speak to my cousin alone for a moment."

Kuri met Orochi's eyes and narrowed his own slightly.

"I will wait in your bedroom, Tetsu-hana," he said, making Orochi huff out a soft, annoyed breath.

Tetsuya flushed and went silent as the Shima leader exited the room, then he turned back to face his former tormentor.

"Orochi-sama," he said respectfully, "Due to Byakuya-sama's concern for your safety, he has asked me to take over security, here at Sakura no Kaiyou. I know that my presence…a-and Kurushimi-sama's is uncomfortable for you, but I assure you that with the threats your father is making, it is…"

"I know," Orochi said quietly, "It's fine. I will not try to leave again. I only left before to bring Mother and Yuu here for their safety."

"Yes," Tetsuya agreed softly, "It was, as Byakuya-sama said, reckless, but…Orochi-sama was…brave to protect them."

"You would have done it," Orochi sighed, closing his eyes, "Even when you were weak and had no powers, you would have found a way."

Tetsuya stared at him through wide, saddened eyes.

"Orochi-sama…"

"Don't waste your sympathy on me, Tetsuya," Orochi warned him in a soft, distant tone, "Go and make love to that man who is waiting for you. I had my chance to do the right thing, but I chose the same path that my bastard father did. Just as he destroyed my mother, I tried to destroy you."

"Orochi-sama," Tetsuya said quietly, "although what you did to me was awful and it was wrong, I knew that you did not really hate me. If you had really hated me, you would have let me die, and you wouldn't have let Naoki protect me as you did. Even in your darkness, you were still…"

"I was horrible," Orochi said calmly, taking the last sip of his tea and setting his cup down on the nightstand, "It was inexcusable."

He turned back and approached Tetsuya, then paused, looking down into the slighter man's pretty, sapphire eyes.

 _I never deserved you and we both knew it._

He curved a gentle palm around Tetsuya's cheek, looking into his eyes as he captured Tetsuya's hand and lifted it to kiss the back.

"Even though Kurohebi is responsible for some of my behavior," he went on, "I made my choices and I will now accept the consequences. Kurushimi is a good man, beneath his rough exterior and foul mouth. He will make you happy and will probably give you at least a dozen children."

"Orochi-sama!" Tetsuya objected, his blush darkening.

"I hope that you and your family will visit us often at Kuchiki Manor when we return."

"B-but we aren't yet…he hasn't…" Tetsuya sputtered.

"He will," Orochi assured him, "and if he doesn't, the man deserves the years of regret he will suffer."

Tetsuya shook his head, frowning in confusion.

"Go now," Orochi urged him, "I have Shoma to attend me. I have no reason to stray again, because the people I care about are here and they are, for the moment, safe. That's all that matters, is it not?"

"Of course," Tetsuya agreed, stepping back as Orochi released his hand, "I am glad that Orochi-sama has someone like Byakuya-sama to love him. I think that he will make you happy too. And…I think that your children will have a much happier childhood than you did."

"I will try to give them that."

Tetsuya nodded and started to leave, then he turned back.

"Orochi-sama seems very different now, in a good way."

Orochi gave Tetsuya a sly smile.

"I suppose that you and I are living proof that people can change, wouldn't you say, Tetsuya."

Tetsuya nodded wordlessly.

"Go on," Orochi said, feigning annoyance, "You'll want to keep that rogue boyfriend of yours out of trouble."

Tetsuya laughed softly and bowed respectfully.

"I will, of course, do my best," he answered, "but I can make no promises. Kuri-kuri-sama is…willful."

"Ah," Orochi said, smirking, "then you are two of a kind."

He felt a little catch in his heart as Tetsuya flash stepped away and he turned back to the glass doors to watch the rain fall. But the edge of melancholy lifted as Byakuya's strong arms curled around him and his husband's firm, warm lips kissed him at the juncture of his throat and shoulder.

"Was that Tetsuya, leaving here?" Byakuya asked.

Orochi closed his eyes and nodded.

"He was just assuring me that his presence here was because of our need for protection and he didn't want to irritate me."

Byakuya continued to hold him, but said nothing in reply.

"He didn't have to make excuses for being here. I am…more settled inside than I was when we left to come here."

"I noticed."

"You were watching us?"

"I was curious."

"I suppose you are entitled," Orochi said, turning to face him, "but you don't need to worry, either about him annoying me, or about me feeling tempted by him."

"Oh?"

"Things are different."

"What is different?" Byakuya asked.

Orochi considered silently, continuing to look into Byakuya's calm, grey eyes.

"I am," he answered finally, "I think I am beginning to really trust you. I was skeptical at first, because you had every reason to hate me and to use our marriage as a way of evening the score for the hell that I put Tetsuya through."

"I did begin to do just that," Byakuya reminded him.

"But you quickly learned that I hated myself, more than you could ever hate me. I was rotten to the core and both of us knew that. I just…didn't expect that you would ever try to make this marriage work. If you hadn't wanted it to, I would be buried in the misery I deserve after what I've done.

"Orochi…"

"We both know that it's true," Orochi said calmly, "It is only…it is _solely_ because you gave us a chance that Kurohebi is not inside me anymore."

"But you have lost your connection to your father, which I know is more meaningful to you than you want to admit."

Orochi paused and nodded in agreement.

"But everyone wants to believe they are loved by their parents," he went on, "Everyone wants to believe that, whether or not it's true. I held on to that desire and almost took my own life when I realized that, even when I was his favored son, he didn't love me. He used me to relieve himself of Kurohebi, just like his father used him. That part of this legacy is the most ironic part. To gain that power, we gave up our family. From generation to generation, our fathers betrayed and hurt us…then they made us think that it was somehow grand for them to do so."

Byakuya's warm hand came to rest on his shoulder.

"That has ended with you," he said solemnly, "I have seen the affection you have already for our unborn child and I know."

"And that is only true because you found a reason to give me better than what I deserved."

"I wanted a family and the resonance that was forced on us…"

"That, if it was true, wouldn't have brought us this far," Orochi corrected him, "What we are now is an act of will. We both had to choose it for it to become real. Somewhere along the line, you chose to love me…and I will return that love wholeheartedly from now on."

Byakuya's dark eyes widened in reaction and the arms that held Orochi pulled him into a hard, passionate kiss. Orochi met his lips readily, yielding with a little sigh and responding easily to the deliciously hot tongue that sought entrance and invaded, probing and caressing. The men's hands slid beneath each other's clothing, loosening them and letting them fall away as they staggered to the bed and crashed down in a tangle, still kissing and caressing as they rubbed their bare bodies against each other. Byakuya managed only a hurried preparation before he was toppled, and his handsome, midnight-eyed mate climbed on top of him, bringing their bodies together for a rapturous bout of hard, fast thrusts that quickly stole their breath away.

 _He usually binds me on some way_ , Orochi thought dazedly, _but this time…_

His sweat dampened fingers entwined tightly with Byakuya's, and he gazed down into his husband's riled grey eyes, reading the undisguised lust in them and driving his powerful hips harder. Their erotic, grinding movements and the delicious friction pushed the two men to their limits, leaving them on the precipice and writhing senselessly, then launching them into star studded bliss. Byakuya gave a passionate, guttural groan of surrender and shuddered violently in release. The explosion of blinding heat and fullness in Orochi's core overwhelmed him and left him collapsed on top of his husband, his seed spilling out onto their recovering bodies.

 _I used to hate Byakuya for just this kind of beauty that he has_ , Orochi mused, his heart still pounding in his chest, _He was beautiful, powerful and he looked down on me as though, even as powerful as I also was, I could never be worthy of him. When we were preparing for my infiltration of the noble's prison, I thought that he might be falling in love with just this impression he had of Tetsuya, based on pictures and other intelligence I had gathered. And I felt something dark and fiery inside. I didn't want him to love Tetsuya. I was attracted to him and at the same time, repulsed because I knew he didn't accept me. He didn't trust me. And no matter what I did, he would never love or respect me. The truth I wouldn't see back then was that I was exactly how he saw me…filled with hatred, jealousy and vile intent. I can't blame Kurohebi. He only took advantage of my insecurity and youthful immaturity. I was wicked enough, but he made me truly monstrous. With Kurohebi gone, I am free to choose my path and, even though I am still dark, sly and more than a little dangerous, because he has opened his heart to me, all I can do is want to protect it. I melt under this man's smile. Just his voice sets my heart racing, and the touch of his eyes makes my knees go weak._

 _I think I've been in love with Byakuya, even while despising him, because I also knew I wasn't worthy. I knew I was beneath him and he should look down on me. But when fate forced me to my knees and I lost everything, he started to look at me differently. It wasn't pity. It was more like seeing me revealed for the first time. He saved my life when I was ready to end it, and he has done everything to rebuild me after I fell apart._

 _I still don't completely deserve him, but I am never letting him go._

"This is such a strange expression for you to wear," Byakuya said suddenly, breaking Orochi out of his thoughts and leaving him staring back curiously.

Soft, warm fingertips slid down the curve of one finely sculpted cheek and traced his lips.

"I would say that you seem like a different person, but that would not be true."

"I am different," Orochi acknowledged, "because of you. I don't know why, but you began to look at me through different eyes, and that made it feel safe for me to be myself with you."

Byakuya gave him a look that radiated with mingled measures of wariness and affection.

"I would suggest not letting down your guard with me completely," Orochi said, smirking, "Some things have changed, but I did tell you that I am never going to be gentle like Tetsuya."

"Stop," Byakuya said, pressing his fingers to his husband's frowning lips, "You do not need to keep comparing yourself to him."

"Why not?" Orochi sighed, sitting up and leaning back against the pillows, "What he went through, much of it at my hands, should have made him more bitter and vindictive than me. But, you see it. I know you do. After everything, Tetsuya continues to be hopeful. He is able to accept the disapproval of the elders and family members who would still like to see him locked up and kept weak. He understands that is how they feel, but it doesn't darken his heart at all. He hasn't let them change him."

" _Anata_ , you must also remain hopeful," Byakuya advised him, "It is difficult, with the demands of bearing the heir, and knowing that, as soon as our child arrives, you will be forced to answer Kurohebi's challenge."

"Eika is growing stronger," Orochi reported, "but with every day, more and more of my reiatsu is required for supporting the growth of our child. I am already mostly powerless now. Training for a battle that would challenge me on my best day, while I am suffering my worst…"

"You will be fine," Byakuya assured him, "I told you that I will make sure of that. I know you will give your best to it as well, and…"

Byakuya broke off as a hell butterfly arrived, its little body glowing red to mark the urgency of the message.

 _Kuchiki taichou_ , Shunsui's deep voice addressed him, _I am sorry to task you with this, but some fighting has broken out between quincy remnants and a patrolling unit, near your location, and you are the only taichou close enough to get to them within a reasonable time frame. Renji is on his way with your backup. He will meet you at the location stored in this hell butterfly._

Byakuya sighed resignedly and leaned over to give Orochi a warm kiss of parting.

"I am sorry. I have to go. Remain here, under guard. And do stay out of trouble this time. I do not want to come back to find you missing again."

"The people who matter to me are already here," Orochi chuckled, "Where would I go?"

"And no nefarious plans, either," Byakuya said in a deadpan tone, earning a coy smile from his mate."

"The only plans I have are to look in on the nursery that Shoma and Torio have been decorating. Shoma said that it was finished and I was curious to see it."

"That does not sound terribly dangerous," Byakuya answered, picking up his uniform as Torio arrived to dress him.

Orochi rested in the bed as Byakuya prepared to leave and was still reclining as his husband finished dressing and offered a final kiss before leaving. A heavier sigh escaped him at finding himself alone again, and he thought briefly about going to visit his mother.

 _She is still being counseled for the abuse she suffered, but they did say it would be good for me to visit her. Perhaps after I visit the nursery._

He left the bed and showered slowly, letting the hot water relax him before emerging and looking into the closet for something to wear.

"Orochi-sama," Shoma said from behind him, "let me do that!"

"I am capable of dressing myself," Orochi said off-handedly.

"But…"

Orochi paused as he spotted among the mostly black clothing, a garment made in midnight blue that closely matched the shade of his changed eyes, with gold trim around the edges.

"Where did this come from?" he asked, removing the kimono from the closet.

"Ah, that," Shoma sputtered, "It was a gift from Byakuya-sama that I was supposed to surprise you with today, sir."

"Today?" Orochi said, frowning, "Why today? Is there some occasion?"

"Oh, no sir, there is no occasion. He just…wanted to give you something."

Orochi stood quietly, looking into the mirror as Shoma wrapped the fine material around him and tied the clothing in place. Shoma stepped back, admiring Orochi's reflection.

"It looks wonderful on you!" he exclaimed.

"It does," Orochi agreed, a little smile creeping onto his lips, "Well, I suppose if he went to the trouble of having it made for me, I should wear it for when he returns."

"He is going to love how it looks on you. They've gotten it just right."

"Thank you," Orochi said, turning out of the dressing area, "I will be…"

"Oh, wait!" Shoma called out, making him turn back as the attendant picked up a small blue porcelain clip, decorated with a tiny, blossoming sakura tree.

"Did he have this made too?" Orochi asked, admiring the piece as Shoma place it in the long strands of his black hair, on the left side.

 _It is traditional for the wife of a leader to wear things that are marked with his symbol._

"No, sir," Shoma answered, "Byakuya-sama chose this from among his mother's belongings. It was his Kuchiki Soujun's first gift to Byakuya-sama's mother, when they were engaged."

Orochi's breath caught softly and he stared at the clip's reflection in the mirror.

"That is a very telling gift," Shoma said more softly, "Byakuya-sama must love you to give you something so meaningful to him."

"Yes," Orochi managed, flushing slightly at the dampness that had welled up in the corners of his eyes, "he does. And I feel the same."

He cleared his throat and blinked several times to steady himself.

 _I will be glad to have back a body that does not betray me so much_ , he sighed inwardly, _This is so unlike me. But, what Byakuya did was…_

"Will you be needing anything else, sir?" asked Shoma.

"No, I am just going to visit the nursery," Orochi informed him, "Come with me. You and Torio have spent a lot of time preparing it."

"I will join you in a few minutes, sir," his attendant promised, "I just have to clean up here."

"Very well," Orochi said, heading out of the room.

He walked into the hallway and opened the door to the next room, pausing as he stepped inside.

 _Soon, this will be our child's room._

His mind went back to his own room that had always been warmly decorated and filled with new clothing and training gear.

 _Our baby will be heir to the clan leadership._

He thought back to his own youth, frowning at the memory of his bonding with Kurohebi and the subsequent training that had changed his life from one of contentment and comfort to one of heavier responsibility.

 _I don't feel like I had a childhood._

He walked slowly across the room, admiring the lovely, colorful mural painted onto one wall and the display of finely made clothing and brand new baby toys. A little smile rose onto his lips as he walked towards the crib in the room, thinking about what it would be like when their baby slept there. He approached the side of the crib, and as he started to reach down to touch the coverlet, something shot out from beside the pillow and struck his extended hand, making it sting where the small beast latched on.

Orochi drew back, staring at the small, wicked looking, red-eyed snake as it met his gaze, hissed furiously, then dissipated in a puff of smoke. He gasped and stepped back, already feeling numbness spreading up through his bitten hand and into his arm.

"Shoma!" he called out, cringing at how desperate his own voice sounded.

 _I was never afraid of poison before, but I had Kurohebi's protection. I suppose I know who is behind this. He would want a way that left no trail to him. No one will know exactly what attacked me. Kurohebi can alter his poisons endlessly to hide his reiatsu._

He stared down at his hand as the numbness spread to his legs and he began to collapse. Shoma's arms caught him and eased him to the floor as the attendant's panicked voice called for help. Orochi tried to speak, but found the numbness entering his chest.

 _Oh, this is not good._

"Torio! Bring Tetsuya-san!" Shoma howled, "Please hurry!"

Orochi gazed up dazedly at his worried attendant, his vision clouding until Shoma's anguished countenance faded into blackness.


	14. Blackheart

**Chapter 14: Blackheart**

 **(A request by AvellaAria and several others! Enjoy. Love to all, Spunky)**

Orochi wasn't sure when the deep, primal exclamations of pain began to sound. He only knew the screams rang distantly in his ears, and that he felt such tension in his body that he writhed uncontrollably. Strong hands held him down as restraints were wrapped around his wrists, ankles and waist. A deep, familiar voice uttered a vicious curse in Spanish.

"It is like _El Diablo_ , himself, is in him! What can we do?"

He felt Tetsuya's soft, gentle hands touch his face and heard the whispered command that sent a cool stream of something soothing through his veins. The sharp, painful contractions in his muscles eased, but he felt a rising ache in his abdomen that made him groan and pant harshly in distress.

"Has there been word from Byakuya-sama?" the old healer's voice asked.

"A hell butterfly arrived a few minutes ago," Kuri replied in a low, worried tone, "They have Princesa with them, and they are on their way."

"They had best arrive quickly," Michio said, shaking his head and frowning, "While Tetsuya-san's power is holding back the worst of the poison's effects, the stress on Orochi-sama's body is enormous. I do not like to predict what will happen if they don't arrive soon."

Orochi felt sharper abdominal pains and panted harder, sweat breaking out on his face and throat. The healer's hands touched him, and his mind began to go into a slow spiral, carrying him away from the intensity of the pain, but leaving him straining to pick up some sign of what was happening to him and to the growing life inside him.

He sank into a stormy abyss, reeling as he sensed that the strain on his body had become nearly unbearable. The voices around him remained unintelligible, but he felt dimly that the clothing on his abdomen was being drawn back and that there was light around his body that he couldn't see. But the most chilling moment had to be when he heard Shima Kurushimi begin to whisper a prayer in Spanish.

 _It is too early for the baby to be born._

 _Don't…_

The light around him seemed to grow painfully bright, and the room went silent. He registered the feeling of something breaking away from him, and he ached to hold on as the little life he had been carrying broke away. There was a long moment where everything seemed to freeze, then he heard Tetsuya's soft, devastated sob and Kuri's stunned whisper.

" _¡Dios mío!"_

He tried to make his body move, but crashed down into a roiling inferno, his mind replaying everything that had happened since the day of the hollow attack. Waves of inconsolable agony tormented body and mind as he struggled to accept what he knew had just happened. He was relieved that his besieged form was incapable of moving or making a sound as Byakuya's footstep sounded in the room and he felt the sudden enveloping of a much stronger healing power. He was drawn down into a deeper sleep, and afterwards, the only thing that registered was when all of the voices seemed to fade away, and a warm body curled snugly around his.

 _This horrid feeling…this dread emptiness. It is what I felt when Eika was ripped away from me! And that pain from long ago and this…it was wrought by the very same evil._

 _Kurohebi, you dark, scheming bastard!_

 _This is how you dragged me down into the darkness before, how you filled my body, heart and mind with wickedness that turned my eyes black as night. I'd only begun to know how good it was to feel like myself again. I had only begun to embrace the love of my husband and the prospect of us having a child who would not lose his innocence to you. Now, you reach into my heart and tear that dream away, just as you tore away a part of my soul, as I laid on the ground, screaming! I swear that, whatever it takes, whatever wickedness or price I must pay, you are going to die!_

"Orochi, I am here," Byakuya whispered into his ear, breaking through the darkness, " _Anata_ , you are going to be all right."

He could hear in his husband's tone, the weight of what had happened.

 _But, true to form, Byakuya continues to function. Somehow, he bears the pain quietly and makes himself move. And here I am, the once-pride of my household, frozen with weakness and unable to speak, barely able to breathe on my own. How did I come to this? And what reason is there for me to crawl on my belly, straining for the surface, when there is nothing left of my subfamily, but the little pieces that Kurohebi has broken us into. My father is a monster, and my mother, a shadow of who she used to be. Yuu is burdened with the weight of loss and the curling of that snake around his soul, and me…I am a disgrace. What is left?_

He felt oddly soft, firm hands on his face, and a deep, resonating voice that called to him. But he was suddenly tired…so weary that he wasn't sure he could gather himself to respond. Instead, with a long, shuddering sigh, he clung to Byakuya's strong arms, sharing in the tearing pain that assailed them both.

 _It seems so long ago now that I considered bearing our child a burden, an insult that made me look weak. But I know now that there are different kinds of strength, and I do not want to be strong in this way. I hated myself when I was darkened and evil inside, when Kurohebi's poison made me heartless and invulnerable, but never once did I know such pain. But I suppose that we get what we have coming. I tormented Tetsuya for all of those years, and now, it seems, every little thing is coming back to haunt me. But, I have something now that I didn't have before._

"Byakuya," he managed in a broken whisper.

"Don't try to talk," Byakuya chided him, "Rest, Orochi."

It was easy enough to obey. Sleep was a respite from reality, he was sure. But, even asleep, he heard the little cries and saw Byakuya holding a tiny baby boy in his arms and kissing him lovingly on the forehead. He felt mingled pride and devastation at the talent that their son would have been, warmth and a deathly chill as he envisioned the sharing of himself that came with parenthood.

 _I hope I would have been nothing like my own father. But what do I have to compare to? All I ever knew was the way he held me up in front of everyone and made so much of my powers, of my ability. But the power that flowed out of me, and the way that it was shaped, which he was so proud of, wasn't mine at all! It was that damned snake. And for years, I actually took pride in all of that. But it really wasn't about me at all. The one my father loved, the one he treasured was Kurohebi._

 _I wonder if he even remembers what it was like, feeling his own zanpakuto shatter. I wonder if he ever shed a tear for what was a part of his own soul, that his father let Kurohebi tear away and devour. Did he wonder if he would ever hear the voice of his zanpakuto again?_

 _He didn't act like it._

 _He seemed prideful about the strength it took to be broken and remade by that demon. He chided me for crying over Eika and he taunted me that I should embrace being raised and honored with power greater than what most shinigamis will ever have._

 _I would trade it all to have my child back._

He opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself returned from Sakura no Kaiyo and back in his bed at Kuchiki Manor. He felt a touch of cool breeze coming in through the open garden doors and heard a solemn voice speaking about life and death. Orochi climbed out of bed and moved to the garden doors, listening.

"We never know what time we are given, but each life is a gift, and the life of Kuchiki Takashi enriched all of those around him."

"Takashi," Orochi whispered.

 _Byakuya gave him a name._

 _That means that he was stillborn, but that his body did form. What must it have been like for Byakuya to hold our dead newborn in his arms and to know that my life hung in the balance? What torment has he suffered while I was lying in a fog?_

 _I should be at my husband's side._

He left the bedroom, ignoring the fact that he was still in his nightclothes. The voices of the guards outside his bedroom door called out to him, but Orochi held his head high and ignored them as he headed towards the voice of the head of the Kuchiki elders.

"We do not know why sometimes young lives are taken, but…"

Kuchiki Nori's voice stopped and heads turned as Orochi stood at the center aisle of the gathering place that had been made in the gardens. He was aware of the sea of black, the color of darkness, of death, of destruction. But he ignored the people in the black clothing who made sounds of surprise, dismay and sympathy as he walked, barefoot and barely dressed, between the rows, finding the place where Byakuya stood, staring in shock and taking his husband's hand.

 _He looks as though he's frightened I've gone mad. I'm not crazy. I just know the pain that's in his heart and I know that he has been so busy comforting me that he hasn't addressed his own emotions. I need to be strong for Byakuya._

He became suddenly aware of his mother, standing on Byakuya's other side, her lovely face streaming with tears, and with a pale and sickly looking Yuu holding her hand. His father was nowhere to be seen. Byakuya said nothing, but he watched Orochi carefully, out of the corner of his eye as Nori finished the final prayers, and the family was called to the front to bear the little casket to the family cemetery.

Orochi felt a strange flicker of warmth at seeing Tetsuya moving forward with Yuu, Rukia and Renji to take the four handles. He wanted to thank Byakuya for managing all of the preparations, for taking care of him, for forgetting his own pain to deal with everyone else's. But, his voice seemed frozen in his throat. He continued to hold Byakuya's hand as they followed their son's procession to the cemetery and watched the little casket being lowered into the ground. He and Byakuya moved forward and each picked up a handful of soil, casting it into the grave, then turning and heading back for the house as the other guests added soil to the grave and followed them.

"You should go back to bed," Byakuya said softly, "You are still recovering and it is not good for you to be up and about."

Unable to answer, Orochi stubbornly tightened his grip on Byakuya's hand and kept walking into the gardens. He barely noticed as Shoma arrived and wrapped a warm robe around him, then slipped a pair of sandals onto his feet. They arrived in the gardens and the guests sat down in smaller groups, talking quietly.

"Orochi," his mother's voice called, her soft, shaking hand touching his cheek, "You look so pale. Why won't you go back to bed?"

"Mother is right," Yuu agreed, making Orochi's eyes meet his, "You should rest."

A little chill went through him as he saw the wicked gleam beneath the black that had flooded his brother's eyes.

 _How long will it be until I lose him too?_

A short distance away, Kuri stood with his arm around Tetsuya, keeping him slightly sheltered so that the other guests couldn't see that he was crying silently.

"There now, Tetsu-hana," the Shima leader soothed him, "It is a terrible loss, but Byakurai and Orochi are strong people. They will manage. They will try again."

"They were lucky not to have lost each other," Tetsuya whispered sadly.

"Yes," Kuri agreed, "There is still hope for them."

He pulled Tetsuya closer and nuzzled his cheek.

"There is hope for us too, _angelito_. We had horrible losses, but we have found each other. Just like Byakurai and Orochi, we can begin again."

He noticed suddenly that Tetsuya's tears had stopped and he was looking up into Kuri's eyes and wearing a more curious expression.

"What is it, _mi corazòn_?"

"I was wondering," Tetsuya confessed softly, "I have never heard Kuri-kuri-sama use Orochi's given name."

Kuri smiled.

"It is not right to kick a man when he is down," he said, seeking Tetsuya's lips for a gentle exchange of kisses, "That can wait until he is well and causing trouble again."

"I almost wish he would say something cruel," Tetsuya sighed wearily.

"Tetsu-hana…"

"He barely looks like himself. I cannot even feel his reiatsu. His face is so white and so emotionless. Even when Orochi was hurting me, his face was never like that. He was passionate…whether in anger, hatefulness or love. There was power around him. He is like a ghost."

"We were like that too, when our grief had hold of us."

"It never really leaves," Tetsuya said, closing his eyes for a moment, then watching as Byakuya coaxed Orochi back into their bedroom and returned a moment later without him, "It fades out, but it comes back again."

"And the only thing we can do, because we have survived, is to move on."

"That's what we're doing," Tetsuya replied, squeezing Kuri's hand, "We're starting over."

"We are," Kuri agreed, turning Tetsuya towards his bedroom, "Now, let me curl up for awhile with you. I think we both need the comfort."

"Are you sure we shouldn't stay out here?" Tetsuya asked, "What about Byakuya-sama? This has been awful for him. Losing Hisana-sama, then losing his child and almost losing Orochi."

"Byakurai has many people around him, comforting him. Let them help for now. We will still be here for Byakurai when they have gone."

"You're right," Tetsuya agreed, letting the Shima leader turn him towards the bedroom.

They walked past Ichigo and Renji, who stood with Rukia, near a patch of blooming roses.

"I hope Nii-sama will be all right," Rukia said sadly, "He has already suffered too much."

"Well," Ichigo said reassuringly, "He has someone to share that with. He'll be okay, Rukia. Byakuya's really strong."

"I don't want him to have to be so strong," Rukia persisted, "And even though Orochi was evil in the past, he was changing since he married my brother."

Renji glanced in the direction that Orochi had gone and shook his head firmly.

"Let's hope this doesn't make him change back," he commented wryly.

"I don't think he will," Rukia posited, "He and Byakuya have gotten closer. I think they're really in love now."

"Sometimes, that's all that gets you through," Ichigo added.

"Yeah," Renji agreed, his face taking on a troubled look.

Rukia looked around the gardens and noticed Byakuya heading towards the front gates.

"Hey, I've got to go and help Byakuya farewell the guests," she said, excusing herself. You two have an invitation to stay, if you want. Byakuya wants to keep some trustworthy people around to keep an eye out in case something else should happen."

The two watched as Rukia left, then they started towards the guest wing.

"So, uh, do you wanna hang out for awhile in my room?" Renji asked.

 _I've liked Ichigo for awhile, but I never seem to be able to say it to him._

"What do you wanna do?"

"Eh," the redhead said, reaching up to scratch at the back of his neck, "I dunno. Talk. You know…"

"Sure," Ichigo agreed, following Renji to the guest room.

The two walked inside and Ichigo paused by the garden doors.

"You want me to shut the doors?" he asked.

"Yeah, Taichou doesn't like too much noise and my voice is loud."

"Sure," Ichigo said amiably, shutting the doors.

Renji sat down on the edge of the bed and rubbed his hands over his face.

"You okay?" Ichigo asked, "You look like something's bothering you."

"Yeah," Renji confessed, "I guess all of this and the war just reminded me how you don't know what's gonna happen. I mean, any day could be your last. You might not have time to do things like having kids, raising a family. We all think like we're gonna have that, but it's no guarantee."

"Yeah," Ichigo agreed, sitting down on the bed beside his longtime friend and placing a hand on his shoulder, "I try to put it outta my mind, but at times like this, it comes back."

Renji took a slow breath, closing his eyes and enjoying the feeling of Ichigo's hand touching him.

"Hey, Ichigo?"

He turned his head and felt a little twinge in his insides that screamed for him to move just a little farther, to close that little remaining distance.

"Huh?"

Ichigo's golden-brown eyes looked back at him curiously, then began to register comprehension. Renji froze as Ichigo leaned closer and brought his lips to the redhead's, setting off and long, sensuous barrage of kisses. They crawled under the covers, fully clothed and curled up together, just lying quietly in each other's arms as night began to fall outside.

"Thanks for staying," Renji said, nuzzling Ichigo's cheek.

"I'm glad you asked me to," Ichigo admitted, "I've kinda been hoping that, well, you know, that you might be interested in me."

"We have a lot of fun together," Renji said, smiling sadly, "I know we piss each other off a lot, but some couples are combustive in a good way."

"Oh, so we're a couple now?" Ichigo asked, smirking, "Is that how it is?"

"I dunno. Is that how you want it to be?" Renji countered.

"I asked first," Ichigo laughed softly.

"Okay, fine. Yeah. I want it that way," Renji said in a flustered tone, his face turning as red as his hair, "But, don't you have a list a mile long of people your elders are trying to marry you off to? I don't think I'm what they have in mind for you."

"So?" Ichigo snickered, pulling Renji in for a longer, more passionate kiss, "You're what I have in mind for me."


	15. Venom

**Chapter 15: Venom**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

 **(Thanks going out to Vora (Thanks so much for the sweet compliments. I am enjoying the pair also. I am writing Byakuya slightly different in this story than in some of my others, and I find his very strong initiative refreshing. I just may have to start incorporating that into other stories too!), Willlow (I made me cry too!), Tmp3475 (Sometimes fics really dig in deep. I used to avoid reading stories with deeply painful parts, because I was too tender hearted. Those parts still get to me, but that pain often reveals the fighting spirit and driving love of the people in the story. It still hurts enough to bring tears, but I find I need the gift of knowing that despite deep, gut wrenching pain, love survives and carries us forward. Having lost some close family and my best friend to death, I want to live a fuller life. I guess that's what's behind stories like this.), Yukino76 (Yeah, Renji can be a little slow about that! In a cute way!), Tcas0518 (I kicked my muse for you.), Hisuiryuu (Isn't it funny that I originally wrote Orochi to be unredeemable, but as determined as I was, there was a way back, even for someone as flawed as he is. There is always a story behind a person's behavior, and I believe that love can bring some people back from a very lost place...not all people, but ones who have the will and the support to truly change.), Adalie Delacroix (And more danger is coming!), AvellaAria (The chapter on the loss of Orochi's baby was so very hard for me to write. I cried over it and agonized if I was doing the right thing. Death in my stories is never flippant, so it was unavoidable, but I could only do it because I know where it's all going.), Gemnika (Aw, you are so good to me! I get very invested in each story and try hard to get the flow and level of tension just right. Glad to know you are enjoying that!), and GrimmIchisgrl (So glad to have you along!) You guys are all kinds of awesome. I will have another chapter soon. Love you, Spunky)**

 **XXXXXXXXXX**

Byakuya knelt at the low work table in his study, quietly examining documents, while pausing intermittently to take sips from his teacup. The work helped for a while to ease the heavy weight on his heart as his mind pondered the turmoil of the recent past. But concern still nagged at him bringing constantly to mind the man who laid in his bed, silent and only restlessly sleeping between nightmares. Orochi's drawn face refused to leave his mind, until at last, he gave in and breathed a few words to his nearby attendant.

"Torio, will you please replace Shoma on duty for a moment and have him report to me?" he asked calmly.

"Hai," Torio answered, bowing briefly before exiting the room.

Byakuya breathed a little sigh of relief at being able to do _something_ that might ease the deep tension. For, while their stillborn son's funeral might have given them a chance to grieve together, there were issues related to that, which Byakuya was sure would evolve into more difficulty.

 _Orochi seems to have retreated into himself. And while I have been fully briefed on how best to comfort and assist him, I feel a sense that something dangerous is building in him. He has come so far in such a short time. Considering the man he was before, I cannot believe sometimes he is the same person. The damage Kurohebi and Isas have wrought on Isas's subfamily is unthinkable. I only hope that this tragedy does not cause Orochi to regress._

 _It is a very real possibility._

Byakuya heard Shoma's footsteps approaching in the hallway, then watched as the attendant entered through the study's inner door.

"You sent for me, sir?" Shoma inquired, bowing respectfully.

"Yes. I would like an assessment of Orochi's condition," Byakuya requested, "I know Michio was in to see him a little while ago. I am curious as to how Orochi is doing."

"He is improving physically," Shoma reported, "His spirit centers are responding to stimulus now. He is regaining his powers, now that the pregnancy is… _past_."

"Has he spoken to you? To anyone?"

"No, sir. I am sorry. He still seems disconnected. I have…tried everything his counselor suggested, but I can't get him to eat, to drink or to speak to me. I have not heard him speak to anyone else. He has…terrible nightmares, sir," Shoma repoted, his voice beginning to shake, "I apologize for my behavior, Byakuya-sama, but…I look at him, and I haven't seen him like this since…well, since we were children."

"Since his father forced Kurohebi on him," Byakuya finished, his eyes darkening and his reiatsu flaring in reaction.

Shoma looked back at him, pale-faced and seemingly unable to speak.

"It's fine," Byakuya assured him, "I already know about the snake spirit, and we are in private here. That being the case, is there anything more that you can tell me about Kurohebi or about Orochi's past…something that may help to stir him?"

Shoma gave him a regretful look.

"I wish there was something more that I could tell you, but there really isn't. I did witness Isas-sama forcing Kurohebi into Orochi's soul, as well as the abuse you witnessed yourself when you went to Isas's estate to rescue Orochi, his brother and his mother. You have no idea how much I want to know the right words or the right thing to bring my master around. As much as I know that he, too, used to be evil, he is not an evil man now. Your love has freed him from all of that, and I am so very grateful, Byakuya-sama!"

Byakuya started to answer, but stiffened and fell silent as Koji flash stepped into the room, wearing a worried expression.

"What is it? What has happened?" Byakuya asked urgently.

"I just found Torio lying across your bed, sir! The guards on the room were knocked out also…and Orochi-sama is gone!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Orochi flash stepped away from Kuchiki Manor, using the foliage as cover to hide him from the eyes of the house guards. His felt a little regret as his mind replayed what had happened just prior to his departure.

 _He sat in silence as Torio entered the room and spoke briefly to Shoma._

" _Please, will you watch over my master?" Shoma requested._

" _That is why Byakuya-sama sent me," Torio assured the anxious man, "I won't leave him alone. I promise."_

" _Thank you, Torio-san."_

 _Torio waited until he had gone, then he walked to the bed and sat down, picking up a cup of warm tea and touching it to Orochi's lips._

" _This is your favorite tea, Orochi-sama. Shoma-san made it himself."_

 _Orochi's midnight eyes blinked slowly, but he neither moved his lips, nor gave any sign he had heard._

" _Come now, your body needs to recover. Please, Orochi-sama, try to drink."_

 _He persisted for several minutes, but Orochi remained ominously silent._

" _Byakuya-sama is very worried about you," Torio sighed, "And Shoma-san and I are also. I…wish there was something that I could do, sir. I really do want to help."_

 _He sucked in a hopeful breath as Orochi breathed in more deeply and his eyes seemed to clear slightly._

" _I n-need to change," Orochi said haltingly._

 _Torio's eyes brightened hopefully._

" _You would like fresh clothing?" he asked, "Of course, Orochi-sama. I will bring it."_

 _He stood and started towards the dressing area, but never reached it, as Orochi surged up from the bed and dropped the attendant into his arms with a quick kido shock. He paused for a moment, looked down at Torio's face and listening to see if anyone had heard any telltale sounds. But, the guards remained standing, undisturbed, outside the door. He laid the attendant gently on the bed and used a less jolting kido to ensure he slept comfortably. Moving to the dressing area, he removed his yukata and searched his clothing until he found the black clothing he had favored before his arrival at Kuchiki Manor. He dressed quickly, then walked back to the bed, his eyes on the guarded doors. He edged towards the doors, closing his eyes and called on the power he had worked all night, trying to connect with. He was rewarded with soft sounds of dismay outside the doors, then the guards slumped and were easily dragged inside._

 _He escaped quickly then, using his fastest flash step and heading for his father's home._

A little movement in the trees ahead of him alerted him to the presence of Tetsuya's stallion, and he altered his path, masking his reiatsu carefully. The strain on his body after the extended period of powerlessness made him break out in a sweat and his body shook slightly, but he was sure it was as much dark anticipation as it was weariness.

 _I suppose it's understandable to have mixed feelings about killing one's father…even when that man is a monster._

As he continued towards his old home, he forced himself to go back, to play out the horrid memories in his mind, to remind himself why Kuchiki Isas deserved the death he was about to be handed.

 _He may not have been complicit with Kurohebi's plan to take my baby's life, but he was the one who stood over me, tied me down and started all of this. It will end with us, too. It will end here._

 _This is where Kurohebi's stranglehold on our lives will begin to come apart!_

As Orochi closed in on his father's vast estate, he honed in on the main house and affirmed with his senses that his father was within. He quickly incapacitated two guards in an area near the back of the house, and he entered through the window of his old bedroom. He looked to make sure that the bedroom door was open, then he loosed his reiatsu, letting it swell around him until the house began to shake softly with the force of it.

 _Yes, Father, it's me…the son whose life you ruined and whose heart you turned to be as black and vicious as yours. That viciousness will now be turned on you…on us._

 _It ends here, now, at my command…_

He waited until his father's footsteps sounded in the hallway, then he conjured a powerful kido bomb and held it ready. Isas entered the room and spotted Orochi, holding the activated device, and his face twisted in fury and horror.

"What are you _doing_ in my home, you deranged maniac?" he demanded, summoning his own power.

Orochi answered by lobbing the kido bomb at him and watching as Isas shielded himself, forcing the power of the device to loose its devastation on the house. Screams sounded in the other areas, and a house alarm began to wail. Within the space that had been Orochi's bedroom, the two men drew their swords and crashed them together. Sparks showered all around the two as they clashed, striking hard and blocking, swinging wildly and drawing blood, leaving each other wounded, but still colliding repeatedly as the damaged house burned around them.

"You are a fool!" Isas scolded him, "You never deserved the honor of bearing Kurohebi. The spirit tried to tell me that Yuu was more suitable, but I loved you. I favored you. I trusted you to being glory to our subfamily. And you were a horrible disappointment, just as Kurohebi knew you would be."

"You never loved me," Orochi said coldly, "You have to have a heart to feel love, and you never had a heart. How else could you stand there and listen to the screams of your zanpakutou and never feel a thing? How could you cling to that inhuman beast? How could you know what it would do, and loose it on the son you claimed to _love_!"

"I was breaking the restraints on you!" Isas snapped angrily, "Eika was never going to amount to anything near the power of Kurohebi. You would probably not have ever reached bankai without Kurohebi. You were nothing without the snake's power…as was I…as were all of those who came before us, Orochi! Even our ancestor, who first bonded with Kurohebi knew his strength was unequaled!"

"I wish that thing would have just _killed_ him!" Orochi screamed, slamming his sword down on his father, then kicking Isas soundly in the chest.

The elder man tumbled down into the burning debris, but emerged a moment later with his sword's power releasing. An explosion of shrapnel laced wind struck Orochi, pummeling his slender body, tearing through his clothes and drawing lines of blood all over his flesh. Orochi answered with a quick command that stole the breath from his laughing father, making Isas pause and gasp for air.

"Y-you will die f-for this, you b-bastard!" Isas panted as Orochi closed in on him, raising his blade menacingly.

"Yes," Orochi agreed, abandoning his defenses and aiming his blade at his father's heart, "But you will have back the son who loved you, the one you destroyed when you let Kurohebi inside me!"

Orochi threw his weight into one last attack, barely noticing the fire that had begun to burn his clothing and was quickly reddening the skin underneath. He missed, too, the little swell of dancing pink petals that curled around Isas and him, both separating the two and rescuing them from the burning home. Orochi came down on his knees, and he felt a restraining field close around him. Isas crashed down on the ground and rolled to his feet, taking a fighting stance and glaring at the clan leader.

"You _dare_ to invade my home again, Byakuya? The council ordered that poor excuse for a son of mine to respect the order barring him from being here. But, you came here with him to attack me!"

"We did not come here together," Byakuya said sternly, "When I realized that the pressures related to losing our child had overcome his senses, I came to stop him."

"I think you came later, hoping that I would already be dead!" Isas accused him, "You have stolen my wife and both of my sons from me, why not my life too? Is that what it will take?"

"I am not here to kill you," Byakuya said in an unruffled tone, "but if I see you near Kuchiki Manor or Orochi, I will not hesitate."

Byakuya turned his back to Isas and looked down where Orochi knelt, panting harshly and helpless under the strong barrier.

"I will lift the barrier," Byakuya said calmly, "but I must have your word that you will not harm Kuchiki Isas unless he attacks us first."

"I understand," Orochi managed, "I will not attack first."

Byakuya nodded and released him.

"You keep him away from here, Byakuya!" Isas hissed, holding his sword ready, "It's clear grief has taken his mind. You should have him put away."

Byakuya ignored his words and slipped an arm around Orochi helping him to his feet. The two left Isas standing in front of his destroyed home and yelling threats, and they moved slowly back along the path to Kuchiki Manor. Orochi waited for him to speak, but Byakuya said nothing at all as they returned home together. They arrived in the courtyard, not having uttered a word about the incident and Byakuya followed Orochi back to their bedroom, where he set a strong barrier in place. Orochi loosed a weary sigh at noticing it was not just to keep him safe, but to restrain him.

"I suppose I deserve that," he admitted softly, sitting down on the bed, "Are your attendant and the guards all right?"

"Torio and the guards are fine," Byakuya informed him, "and Torio was quick to blame what you did on the stress of what we have just suffered. He does not blame you."

"But this is necessary?" Orochi asked, indicating the barrier.

"You attacked a subfamily leader," Byakuya said solemnly, "You do not have to sit in a cell, because you are a clan leader's spouse, but it is my duty to provide an adequate barrier to keep you from leaving until the elders have met and we have discussed what action to take."

"Will you have moved to an asylum?" Orochi asked, the lack of concern in his voice sending fresh flutters of worry through Byakuya, "That would make my father happy."

"I will not allow you to be sent away," Byakuya promised.

"I just tried to murder my father in cold blood. I would kill him now if he was within reach. You know that."

"You are beside yourself with pain that you have not let yourself feel, _anata_."

"Pain and I are old friends," Orochi said blithely, "We met when I was just a boy and we have been together ever since. Pain no longer reaches me. That one thing, I have inherited from that man I tried to kill. I have no heart."

"That is a lie," Byakuya said, wrapping his arms around Orochi and holding him tightly, "It may have been true when we were bonded, but it is not true now. You weren't being heartless when you attacked Isas. You were striking out at the one person whose failure to protect you is the reason we just buried our son. You say you feel no pain, but the pain is written all over you. It is just that only the ones you let close to you can see it. And I do see it, _anata_. I do."

Byakuya sucked in a sharp breath as Orochi's arms clenched around him with feverish desperation. Orochi held still as Byakuya's soft hands removed the layers of black cloth, baring the red streaked flesh beneath it. He coaxed his husband onto the bed and slowly healed each marking, laying tender kisses in every place that had been cut in the fighting. He wrapped a warm yukata around Orochi and coaxed him into bed, lying down beside him and holding him as he drifted towards sleep.

"We will be happy again, Orochi," Byakuya promised, "We have been through something awful, but we will move forward."

"I don't know sometimes if I can anymore," Orochi confessed, "I'm not like you. I only look strong. You are strong. You have been through this and you tried to make our marriage work, even though your pain over Hisana was still with you. Now, this pain is added and you spend your worry on me. What would happen if I left you too?"

Byakuya met his eyes with steely resolve.

"Do not go," he said sternly, "Stay with me, and when we have had time for our grief to lessen, we will both find we have the strength to go on."

"I will stay with you," Orochi promised, "but I will not feel safe having any more children until Kurohebi is destroyed."

"And you are no longer held back from doing that, _anata_. But you must not go to meet him alone. Swear to me that you will not leave me behind when you go to face him. I need to hear you say it, Orochi. Say you will take me with you, even if you forbid me to enter the fight."

"This is a battle, I must win on my own," Orochi answered, seeking Byakuya's lips for a slow, longing kiss, "but I will have you at my side when I go to fight it. I give you my word."

Byakuya continued to hold Orochi against him until his husband was deeply asleep. He left the bed then and walked out into the gardens, where he found Ichigo and Renji standing near the koi pond and holding hands, and Tetsuya and Kuri relaxing beneath a nearby plum tree. He gathered the four and quickly explained.

"All of you need to know that Orochi is in a dangerous state. I will be helping him to regain his full powers, and then he will be facing the power that has brought this trouble down on us. The four of you need to protect him from anything that tries to reach him...and you will have to watch out for his own demons that are haunting him. Be cautious. I warn you...neither Orochi nor anything...or anyone around him are safe."


	16. Drawing the Blackness

**Chapter 16: Drawing the Blackness**

 **(Sorry about the little hiatus! :) My computer caught a nasty virus and needed to be factory restored and everything reloaded. You have no idea what a pain that was! Anyway, I am up and running again, so I will have more chapters on the way. Thanks to everyone who PMed to make sure I am still alive. I am alive, well and back in action! :P)**

Ichigo stirred and groaned softly, breathing in deeply and slowly as he caught the mingled remaining scents of his and Renji's passionate, nightlong coupling. Even buried in the redhead's resting body, he felt the telling dampness between his own thighs that made him smile as he remembered the ferocity of their repeated joinings.

 _It's been building up for a long time, this thing between Renji and me. We both used to be weak. We were, in our own ways, helpless. But we both also had an unbreakable will to protect the people we love. That hasn't changed, not through everything that's happened to us. And even though we surrendered to each other, we will never surrender to anyone who tries to break us apart._

He turned his head slightly, looking out the garden doors. He startled as Renji's deep voice rumbled beneath his poised body and in his ear.

"We should get up," the redhead sighed, "Tetsuya and Kuri have been on duty all night. It's time for us to take over."

Renji realized as he tried to move that Ichigo was grinning widely and that their bodies were still joined. And it being morning, the two shared an awakening hardness.

"Guess we have to do something about this," Ichigo chuckled, moving his hips, then watching with affectionate eyes as Renji gasped in reaction and swore.

"Aw, fuck…" he panted, his eyes narrowing as Ichigo's slim hips wiggled teasingly, sending a hard jolt through his hungry loins, "Ichigo…we're supposed to be…"

"Shh," his ginger-haired mate purred in his ear as he began a slow, gentle thrusting that quickly stole Renji's breath away, "We waited a long time for this. I don't feel like rushing."

"Y-yeah, well Taichou w-wants us t…oh…oh…damn it, Ichigo, you're…!"

"I'm what?" Ichigo giggled, adding speed and depth to his erotic movements and swiftly reducing his powerful partner to a writhing, panting mess on the bed, "Sorry, I didn't hear you. Did you say something?"

"Augh, s-stop it!" Renji complained, his hips rising eagerly off the bed and his strong hands gripping Ichigo's muscular shoulders, "You're makin' us late. Y-you're…!"

"You're beautiful, Renji," Ichigo breathed into is ear, sending the redhead tumbling into the gripping shudders of a mind-numbingly sweet release.

"Oh my god," Renji panted, when he could manage to speak again, "You're killing me, Ichigo! You're fucking killing me. And when you're done, Taichou's gonna kill me for making poor Tetsuya and Kuri work extra while I was…"

"While you were having the best night of your life with me?" Ichigo snickered.

Renji let out a long breath, swaying slightly as he pulled away from his ginger-haired lover.

"I don't know if we should be having so much fun, you know? Taichou and Orochi just lost their baby and…"

"And we're all sad and looking for comfort," Ichigo provided, "I know it's their loss, but I could see how it was hurting you to know that Byakuya was in pain. It hurts me too. Even though Byakuya and I have had our differences, he's my friend now. I don't like knowing he's in pain."

"Yeah," Renji sighed, "And even though I never thought I'd say this, it's not good seeing someone like Orochi looking like he did at the baby's service. I know the guy was horrible to Tetsuya and the other prisoners in Itamigiri. I even used to think It'd be fine with me if something bad happened to him, but he and Taichou have been good together. Orochi's really different. Taichou's cousin, Torio, told me that Orochi is a changed man. I've seen him talking to Tetsuya and Tetsuya was smiling."

"Well, as bad as he was? Byakuya was determined to help him, and he didn't quit on Orochi. If you're gonna be with someone for the rest of your life, it should be like that. You should hold on and never give up on them."

An amused smile crawled onto Renji's flushed lips.

"Is that how it is when you love someone?" he asked, giving Ichigo a meaningful look that brought a cute flush to his lover's cheeks.

"Heh, sorry, I was going on."

"What the hell else is new?" Renji giggled, sliding out of the bed.

A soft tapping on the door sent the redhead diving back into the bed and covering up.

"Come on in, Toshi," Ichigo laughed, "Take it easy, Renji. It's just my attendant."

He gave Toshi a warm, narrow-eyed look.

"You know, you didn't have to come over to dress me," he chided the young man.

"Look at you," Renji teased, smacking Ichigo with a pillow, "Got so rich and respectable, you can't even dress yourself anymore. Does he wipe your butt too?"

"Hey, be nice to Toshi."

"I was just kidding," Renji assured the gentle-eyed youth.

"Oh, I know," Toshi laughed, "We're not as formal in our family as the Kuchikis. We're allowed to be a little more casual with each other. We…"

Toshi's breath caught and he stiffened for a moment his eyes locking on a comely, young, green-eyed man who passed by on the walkway outside the room. Ichigo followed the attendant's gaze.

"Oh, ho, ho, see someone you like?" Ichigo asked, ruffling Toshi's hair as the attendant blinked and shook his head to clear it, "That's Kuchiki Koji, Torio's younger brother, isn't it?"

"Mmhmm," Toshi managed, clearing his throat as he turned to enter the dressing room, "He attends Kuchiki Tetsuya. I see them sometimes when I run errands near here."

"Hey, why don't you let Renji and I take care of ourselves and you can go and visit with Koji?" Ichigo urged him.

"Oh, no, I couldn't possibly."

"Hey, uh, Koji?" Ichigo called out the door, standing and pulling his robe around himself.

"Ichigo-sama!"

"I thought I told you not to use 'sama' with me," Ichigo said, scowling playfully.

"B-but, I came to…"

"Did you need something, Ichigo-sama?" Koji asked, stepping into the room.

A little flush came to his cheeks and he lowered his eyes as he noticed Toshi looking in his direction.

"G-good morning, Renji-san. Good morning, Toshi-san."

"Morning," Renji said, biting at his lips in amusement.

"Good morning, Koji-san," Toshi said, almost running out of breath as he spoke.

"I was just telling Toshi that I have a craving for strawberries with my breakfast," Ichigo explained, glancing at his flustered attendant, "and I know you guys pick'em fresh every day."

"Yes, sir," Koji said, brightening, "Come, Toshi-san, I will show you where they are."

"Oh, of course," Toshi stammered, following the other youth out the door, "I will be right back Ichigo-sama…erm, Ichigo!"

"Take your time," Ichigo chuckled, slipping an arm around Renji and stealing a kiss.

"Cute," Renji huffed, "but now, we're gonna be even later. Get your ass dressed, okay? Tetsuya's gonna pass out from exhaustion before we get there."

"Okay, take it easy," Ichigo laughed, following Renji into the dressing area, "I'm coming."

XXXXXXXXXX

Orochi sat quietly in bed, picking disinterestedly at the meal in front of him and stealing furtive glances out into the quiet gardens. He sighed softly in resignation.

 _I am still so weak. I should eat, but I feel no hunger. What I do feel is restless._

He glanced at the light, shimmer of the barrier that enclosed the room.

 _I suppose even a palace can be turned into a prison._

He looked up expectantly as footsteps sounded in the inner hallway, then deflated slightly as Shoma appeared in the doorway. His attendant studied his barely touched tray and frowned.

"Orochi-sama, not to nag you, sir, but you really need to eat to restore youself."

"I can't eat," Orochi sighed wearily, "Everything tastes like sand, even things that I usually enjoy. It is not the cooking. It is me. Something is wrong with me."

"You are still suffering from grief, sir," Shoma said sympathetically, "Just, please, a few small bites. Surely you can manage just a little."

Orochi bit back a sharp reply and placated his worried attendant with two small bites and a sip of his tea.

"Now, will you please take this away?" Orochi requested, "I am finished for now."

"Yes, of course, sir," Shoma answered, hastening to gather up the dishes and carrying the tray out of the room.

Orochi climbed out of the bed and wrapped his robe around his unusually depleted frame and walked to the open garden doors. He stood silently by the doorway, gazing blankly out into the gardens and ignoring Shoma as the attendant returned and began to prepare his clothing.

"Shoma, where is Byakuya?" Orochi asked, "He didn't say that he would be gone this long."

"I think I saw him in the gardens with Torio-san earlier. He was saying something about visiting the family cemetery."

Orochi drew in a deeper, slower breath.

"I see."

He felt a twinge of humiliation at the thought of asking permission to leave the room, but swallowed the feeling.

"Am I allowed to go to him?" he asked solemnly.

"W-with an escort, yes," Shoma replied, looking slightly embarrassed, "We are still awaiting a council ruling on the incident at your father's home."

"Very well," Orochi said, nodding, "I would like to be escorted to the family cemetery as soon as possible."

"Yes sir," Shoma answered, moving into the dressing area as Orochi followed.

Orochi stood silently as he was dressed, looking blankly into the mirror. It took him several long moments to notice that he had never seen the handsome hunter green outfit Shoma placed on him. He gave the attendant a disapproving look.

" _More_ new clothing?" he mused, shaking his head.

Shoma smiled.

"Byakuya-sama seems to enjoy spoiling you in what ways he can."

"I don't need to be spoiled, or coddled or placated," Orochi said with a measure of impatience.

He clamped down on his burgeoning temper and expelled it in a long sigh.

"It…is beautiful, though," he confessed, admiring the fine material and flattering cut, "It is only right I should go and thank him."

"The guards outside your door will escort you, if you are ready."

Orochi waited at the garden doors as Shoma passed through the barrier and gave an explanation to the guards. One of the guards touched the barrier, allowing Orochi to exit. He paused on the walkway, turning his head slightly as a soft sound reached him, coming from one of the nearby rooms. His eyes registered surprise at seeing that Tetsuya's bedroom door stood cracked slightly open, and he could see inside, where Tetsuya knelt astride the caramel-skinned Shima leader's body, his slender hands shaking where they clenched at the sheets and his hips grinding vigorously as the two made love. Kuri turned suddenly, tossing Tetsuya down, onto his bare back and giving Orochi a perfect view of Tetsuya's naked, sweating form and smiling face. The sound of Tetsuya's laughter struck something deep in Orochi's chest and made his throat tighten.

 _If I had known anything about love, I would have made him look at me that way. I would have made him laugh and smile. But I trained Tetsuya to be submissive, weak and fearful when we were together. I don't want to go back. I don't want to do it over. I think we are both in a better place, but I do wish that I had acted differently. And I know that no words I ever say, no act I can do will be enough to say I am sorry for my cruelty. I will just be glad that Tetsuya has found someone who can be the lover I could not. And I will thank the stars that Byakuya is the man he is…that he took what could have been a complete disaster, and turned it into a future for the two of us._

Orochi turned away and followed the house guards through the gardens and out the back gate.

 _I know Byakuya still visits Hisana daily. It is, of course, no reflection on our union. It is natural for him to remember her. I just wonder if he is…_

He couldn't make himself finish the thought as they made their way along the path and to the entry that led into the cemetery. The guards paused at the gate, allowing Orochi to proceed on his own. He walked silently along the path that led into a lovely grove of blossoming sakura that Byakuya had enchanted to constantly loose petals to decorate the family graves.

 _In a way, this is far too beautiful to be a place of sadness. Only the markers tell of the losses we have known._

Orochi slowed as he reached Torio, who stood waiting a short distance away from where Byakuya knelt. He started to speak to the attendant, but his words froze on his lips as it struck him that there were tears leaking down Byakuya's proud, pale face. He made no sound and barely moved, even to breathe, but the air around him hummed with deeply riled reiatsu.

"Will you please go to him?" Torio whispered in a desperate tone, "He will not allow me to comfort him. He doesn't want anyone to see."

Orochi swallowed the knot that had formed in his throat and nodded silently. He moved forward in slow steps, the weight of what was happening pressing down on all sides.

 _In all of the time that we have been together, it has been Byakuya in control. He has guided us both as I have fallen apart and have begun to gradually rebuild myself. He has reached out, but I haven't been strong enough to reach back, to give back, to pull my part of the weight that comes with living. He has constantly been there for me. And finally, finally I can be there to comfort him._

 _What stars have fallen over us, what angels have blessed us, I am grateful._

Orochi stepped off of the path, making his way across the thick blanket of wet grass, slowing as he reached Byakuya's side and knelt beside his husband. At first, Byakuya gave no sign that he had noticed. The tears that had been falling stopped, but he made no move to wipe the dampness from his cheeks.

"Why are you here?" Byakuya asked in a carefully controlled voice.

"My lover is in pain," Orochi answered, taking Byakuya's hand, "and this is a pain we share. You should be asking me why I wasn't here sooner."

"You did not have to come," Byakuya said in a tone that was neither accusing nor disapproving, but seemed more tentative, "You have just lost a child."

" _We_ lost a child," Orochi corrected him.

"And your family has been torn apart. You still look like a ghost, _anata_. You should be resting."

"There is only one place where I will find rest now," Orochi answered calmly, laying his head on Byakuya's shoulder, "and that is, in your arms. My family has fallen apart and our child is gone, but we are still here. We live and we breathe and we will go on. Just don't leave me to come here and cry alone."

"You hate weakness," Byakuya said solemnly.

Orochi lifted his head from his husband's shoulder and turned to face him. His fingertips rose and brushed away the last of the moisture from Byakuya's soft cheeks.

"No one is always strong, Byakuya. You have told me this when I needed to hear it. And your tears are not a sign of weakness. You cry because you are gathering the strength you need to move forward. I don't have any tears left. I have not been able to really cry for many years. It doesn't mean I am stronger than you. It means I am more damaged. But…thanks to that damage, I can hold you while you cry this time."

"We should not shed tears," Byakuya admonished himself.

He went silent as Orochi's fingers touched his lips, and were followed with a staying kiss.

"Please come back with me. Our bedroom feels like a prison without you there, and we both need someone to hold while we grieve."

Byakuya considered quietly for a few moments, then nodded silently. He rose with Orochi, and the two returned to the cemetery entrance, where they found Torio and the house guards waiting for them. The three men followed silently as Byakuya and Orochi made their way back to the gardens and into their bedroom.

"I forgot to tell you how beautiful you look in that shade of green," Byakuya complimented him.

"Whatever makes me suitable to be seen by you, I suppose," Orochi chuckled.

"You are more than suitable," the Kuchiki leader persisted, wrapping his arms around his husband and seeking his lips hungrily.

His hands slid down Orochi's sides, then slowly began to undress him. Orochi's hands answered by baring Byakuya in an equally unhurried fashion as the two kissed and caressed each other. Byakuya backed his husband to the bed, but stopped him as Orochi started to lie down.

" _Anata_ , I want you to make love to me this time," Byakuya explained, "I want you inside me."

Orochi gave him a confused look.

"Why would you want that?" he asked, frowning curiously, "You've rarely had sex with me unbound. Now, you want to place yourself in my hands? You know that I don't even trust myself right now. I may be mad, just as my father claimed."

Byakuya let out a dismissive breath, sitting down on the bed and watching as Orochi joined him there.

"You are not insane," he insisted, "and you are not dangerous to me. If I was cautious before, it was with good reason. I ask this of you now for equally good reasons. You have suffered, thinking all along that I viewed you as beneath me."

"Well, at least, at first, you did," Orochi reminded him.

"It was necessary."

Orochi paused, then gave him a tentative nod.

"I will give you that."

"But slowly, you opened your heart to me. You let me in and I was able to be there for you. Now, as you regain your strength and you prepare to face your family's demons, you are able to reciprocate. Asking you to do this is simply my way of acknowledging who we have become."

"I am your clan wife," Orochi said doubtfully, "Any suggestion we are equal is…just your imagination. I will never be equal to you. You know I spent years feeling enraged by that fact."

"Perhaps true equality is not possible not outside those doors," Byakuya agreed, "However, when the door to this room closes and we meet here, you are my equal. We are partners in life, coming here to seek the pleasures of each others' bodies. I want us both to enjoy that realm freely."

The look Byakuya received in reply was conflicted.

"What is it, Orochi?" he asked calmly, "Why do you hesitate?"

Orochi looked don at their joined hands, thinking carefully.

"Because Kurohebi wanted to use me, I hurt Tetsuya…Naoki…others. I did so heartlessly, and I enjoyed it."

"And now, you feel a need to punish yourself? That is not necessary. What you need is to forgive yourself and allow yourself to move forward. Tetsuya and the ones who were rescued have all done that. You and Tetsuya have made amends. You have come so far. Why hold back with me?"

"I failed to keep my promises to Kurohebi and he took my brother instead. Then he took our child. Byakuya, this is just the beginning. And before I can feel like an equal to you, I have to put that snake down. I have to end him. Only then will I feel worthy to possess you, even here. Being with you that way isn't something I will do flippantly. Before I touch you that way, I will make Kurohebi pay for what he has done!"

"You do not have to prove yourself to me anymore," Byakuya said firmly.

"No, I have to prove myself to _me_. I don't want to disappoint you. I hope you will not misunderstand me. I want very much to be with you that way, but I want it to be under better circumstances, after I have reclaimed my own true power and ended the disgraceful contract my unwise ancestor made."

For several long moments, Byakuya kept silent, considering his husband's words. Orochi frowned and lowered his eyes.

"Are you angry?"

"No. I understand," Byakuya said finally, "And I will ensure that you have the opportunity to see to Kurohebi's destruction. For now, I will be content to be held. My heart aches and, being close to you who shares the same agony, helps me find peace."

Orochi smiled and laid down, curling into Byakuya's embrace.

"I am only offering you the same peace that you gave me," he said, meeting Byakuya for a flurry of soothing kisses, "You deserve something much better for all you have done to make our marriage work."

"I assure you, Orochi," Byakuya whispered into his ear, bringing him down onto his back and beginning a slow preparation, "I have everything I need when I am with you."


	17. Kitai

**Chapter 17: Kitai (expectation)**

 **(On the road again today, so will catch up on shout outs next chapter. Lots of love and so thankful that the notifications seem to be working again, if a little slowly. Enjoy the new chapter! Cheers, Spunky)**

Orochi made a soft sound of discontent as his attendant's soft whisper brought him awake.

"Orochi-sama, I am sorry to disturb you, sir, but it is time to dress for the council meeting."

"Hmmmm," Orochi mumbled sleepily, "Very well."

He sat up slowly, flinching at the residual ache in his now empty abdomen.

 _The healer said that I would have after-pains for awhile._

"Are you all right, sir?" Shoma asked worriedly.

"I am fine. I was told to expect some pain after. It is not unmanageable."

He blinked in surprise as Shoma's fingertips touched his arm in a staying gesture.

"Please allow me to relieve your pain."

"It is…"

"Byakuya-sama has ordered that you are to be made perfectly comfortable," the attendant explained, "and besides, I want to."

Orochi let out a soft, dismissive breath, hiding the beginnings of a smirk.

"As you wish."

He had to admit that it was a relief to feel the nagging pain fade, and to feel the closeness of Shoma's warm, familiar reiatsu.

 _I don't know why Shoma doesn't hate me. This man has been with me through everything. He has seen me at my weakest, my ugliest and my cruelest moments, and yet he looks at me with genuine affection. I don't understand this at all._

 _This confuses me._

"Are you all right now, sir?" Shoma asked.

"Yes, thank you. Your healing spell has vanquished my discomfort entirely."

"I am glad, sir," Shoma answered, turning towards the dressing area as Orochi slipped out of the bed and moved to follow.

He positioned himself in front of the mirror and waited as his attendant removed his yukata, meeting Shoma's eyes in the mirror and frowning curiously.

"May I ask you something?" Orochi inquired.

"Of course, Orochi-sama."

"Are you happy here?"

The attendant gave him a look of mingled surprise and confusion.

"Am I…?"

"Are you happy? Are you content living here?"

Shoma's expression morphed into a look of alarm.

"You want to send me away, sir?" he asked anxiously, "Have I done something wrong? Y-you don't blame me for the snake that entered the…"

"No, not at all," Orochi assured him, "And I don't want you to leave. I was just asking if you are comfortable here, and if you are not, I was wondering what I could do to make things more pleasant for you."

The attendant's look of confusion deepened.

"Why are you concerning yourself with such things," he said, shaking his head, as though he hadn't heard correctly, "A noble prince doesn't…"

He stopped abruptly at the look of disapproval Orochi gave him.

"A noble prince has a responsibility to take care of the people who attend him," he said firmly, "You have been my attendant since I was a child, dressing me every day, caring for me when I was ill and seeing to my needs, and not once in all of those years have I concerned myself with whether or not you were content."

"I am fine, sir!" Shoma said, blushing and turning away to pick up his master's fresh clothing.

Orochi laid a hand on Shoma's wrist and gazed quietly into his widened eyes.

"What can I do to make things better for you?" he asked in a firm, but still gentle tone.

Before he could answer, Torio appeared in the bedroom doorway and Orochi didn't miss the little blush that formed instantly on Shoma's cheeks at the appearance of the handsome, black-haired and green-eyed man.

"Pardon me, sir," he excused himself, "Byakuya-sama asked me to inform you that he will meet you in the gardens to leave for the council hearing as soon as you have dressed."

"I will be there in a moment," Orochi answered.

He bit his lip gently, watching the little reaction in his attendant's eyes as Torio turned to leave.

"Torio?" he inquired, making Byakuya's attendant pause and turn back.

"Sir?"

"I am…suffering from some residual pain and do not wish it to reoccur during the hearing. I would like you to make arrangements for Shoma to attend with us. He has never attended with me, so he will need you to instruct him as to the proper etiquette."

Shoma sucked in a surprised breath and paled slightly.

"Don't look so worried, Shoma-san," Torio chuckled, "I attend frequently with Byakuya-sama. I'll make sure you know what to do."

"Erm, arigato, Torio-san," Shoma answered, blushing.

"Why don't you go with Torio now," Orochi suggested, narrowing his eyes as Shoma opened his mouth to object, "I wouldn't want you to add any more disgrace to my already dubious name."

"Orochi-sama!" Shoma objected.

"Come," Torio urged him, taking his hand, "He is only teasing you."

Orochi watched as the two exited the room, then turned back to the mirror, frowning as he observed his unusually thin body.

 _I will not defeat Kurohebi in this condition. Of course, if I am judged to be mad and locked up somewhere, I will not be of any use against that serpent anyway._

His head bowed and his eyes closed for a moment. He felt soft, silken cloth drop around his shoulders and opened them again, frowning.

"Shoma, I told you to go with Torio."

Warm lips touched the back of his neck and Byakuya peeked out from behind him, loosing warm breath onto his earlobe.

"I thought you were waiting in the gardens," he mused.

"You overslept and kept me waiting," Byakuya accused him seductively.

"I would have been up earlier, but my lover required a number of reassurances during the night, so I barely slept. I don't know how he is on his feet and looking as though he slept like a stone."

"I learned long ago how to hide the signs of weariness," Byakuya replied, teasing his earlobe with a scorching lick.

"You know, if you continue to do that, we might miss the hearing, and they'll just lock me up without you being able to say anything on my behalf."

"Then, I will come every night to visit you," Byakuya answered saucily, "I can't afford to let members of my household keep me waiting. It is a terrible offense, and you deserve punishment."

"But we are already…"

Orochi sucked in a surprised breath as Byakuya turned him and pushed him back against the wall, his grey eyes glinting with mayhem.

"We will go after you have been properly punished," the clan leader said firmly, pressing up against him.

Orochi flinched and stared as something trailed down over his naked hip, then snapped warningly.

"I wasn't aware you owned one of those," Orochi said, biting at his lip.

"I don't," Byakuya growled in his ear, "This is yours. Your father made sure that this, and a number of other _items of interest_ were sent here after our wedding. It seems he must be holding a grudge over your _activities_ while you were spying in Itamigiri."

"Ah, you did mention a couple of the other items he sent before. I didn't realize there were more."

Orochi's midnight eyes darkened and began to turn away. His breath caught as the leather flogger snapped again, then slid up his side and touched under his chin, raising it to make their eyes meet. Orochi remained silent, looking into Byakuya's steely eyes and waiting.

"There is darkness in both of us and there is darkness in these things. But it is nothing that can't be turned to the meaning and use we give them. I never want you to forget the pain you caused Tetsuya, because you need to never cause anyone that kind of pain again. We will use these same tools, but for our pleasure, and we will never forget to be grateful that there are second chances…for both of us."

Orochi let out a long sigh.

"But, what have you done that…?"

"I naively fell victim to a traitor masquerading as a comrade. I almost allowed my own sister to be put to death. Neither of us is innocent, Orochi, and we both have suffered like pain, though for different reasons. So, as we redeem and remake ourselves, we will remember at all times, who we are."

Orochi gave him a hesitant nod of agreement, but maintained his silence.

"Now," Byakuya went on, "you have kept me waiting and made us late for your hearing. I have, of course, sent proper notice of the delay and have said that we will arrive shortly. We will leave as soon as you have given me a proper apology for your bad behavior."

"A proper apology," Orochi said, feigning contriteness, "Of course, Byakuya-sama."

His hand reached for the tie at Byakuya's waist, only to be stung a moment later by the flogger. He blinked in surprise, holding back a smirk at the malevolent glare the clan leader gave him.

"You dare to touch me without my permission?"

"You ordered me to…"

The flogger snapped again, this time stinging his bare bottom. He couldn't stop the flush that rose on his skin as he saw that Byakuya was watching closely as the teasing pain made his nether region react. The slender hand holding the flogger dipped, and Orochi flinched and sucked in a riled breath as it slid up his sensitive inner thigh.

"Kneel," Byakuya ordered him, reaching down and opening his clothing, "You have kept me waiting this morning. At very least, you will make the wait worthwhile."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama," Orochi said, feigning subservience.

A little smile escaped onto Byakuya's lips as Orochi lowered himself in front of him, pausing to breathe in his sweet, light scent, and looking up at him, waiting for permission to proceed. The clan leader touched the flogger to Orochi's cheek, using it to guide him forward, then drawing it along a bare shoulder as his husband's mouth made contact with his burgeoning member and began to pleasure him. The lips the touched Byakuya's blushing flesh smiled.

 _He doesn't mind at all that we are late. He wants to inconvenience them. And at the same time, he wants to strengthen the ties between us. Finally, I understand why Byakuya was chosen to lead instead of me. It wasn't just bloodline or ability or anything else. The simple fact is that he is a great leader. He is intelligent, strategic and he knows exactly how to anticipate those around him with unusual accuracy. He uses only the amount of force necessary, and he is quick to notice and reward accomplishment. More than that, he manages to express his love for the family subtly, but profoundly. I would feel unworthy to share his bed, but he has found new strength in me. He took the monster I was and found the lost child my father killed. He rebuilt me the way I should have been and he loves me like no one ever has._

Orochi poured his gratefulness into the pleasure he offered his husband, missing entirely the way Byakuya was looking down at him, unable to hold the stern mask he had set in place. His eyes caressed Orochi's bowed and glowing form, marveling at his husband's intense beauty, the grace with which he saw to his task, and the longing for return of the affection he was offering. He let the flogger drop from his hand and clasped Orochi's, raising him and guiding him to the bed, where the two fell down and entwined their bodies into a wicked tangle. The two met in a flurry of heavy thrusts, biting hungrily at each others' mouths as they took their pleasure of each other. Heavy reiatsu flashed around them as they writhed fitfully, gasping and moaning loudly as their movements brought them to a lovely pinnacle and tossed them over.

It wasn't until they laid, panting in recovery and exchanging gentler kisses that Orochi spotted the broken charm that laid on the bed. Byakuya's eyes widened and he picked up the charm, staring at it where it dangled between his fingertips. Orochi read the regretful look in his eyes and wrapped a hand around Byakuya's.

"Fate isn't gentle with men like us," he said calmly, "Let it go."

"But, neither one of us is ready for…for this. You asked me to delay until…"

"Yes," Orochi agreed, "and this only means that I will have to move against Kurohebi sooner. I promise you, I will not fail. As soon as the hearing is over, I will begin training with Eika."

"Orochi…"

"Please, trust me," Orochi insisted, "I know I have been leaning on you for awhile now, but I do have strength of my own."

"I know you do, _anata_ , but you are still recovering."

"I can do this, Byakuya," Orochi insisted, "This confrontation has been years in the making. I suffered under the yoke of that demon for much of my life. But being the wielder of his power gave me knowledge of his exact abilities and his thinking. There is no one more prepared to take on Kurohebi's full strength than me. That beast is a disgrace that has been hung on our name. I will bring it down, break it apart and burn the pieces."

"Yes," Byakuya agreed, steadying himself and dropping the charm into the waste bin, "I am sorry. I was just surprised and a bit worried. Forgive me for doubting you."

Orochi gave him a knowing smirk.

"Maybe when we come home from the hearing, you will offer me some kind of apology."

He didn't miss the look of concern that touched Byakuya's face for a moment.

"You're worried they will believe my father's contention that I'm mad?" he asked, "You think his case will be that strong?"

"I cannot say," Byakuya admitted, "But, I will not let anything happen to you, Orochi. I will protect you with everything that is in me, and I will make sure that you have your opportunity to make Kurohebi pay for the pain he has caused you. Whatever happens in that room today, do not forget that."

"I won't," Orochi said, hugging Byakuya tightly, "No matter what they decide, I will put myself completely in your hands. I will trust you to the very end. I swear it."

"Good," Byakuya replied, meeting his eyes fleetingly, then turning to grab his clothes, "Now, we had best get going. I think I've made my point, both with you and the elders, ne?"

"Oh, I think you have," Orochi snickered, grabbing his own clothes and beginning to dress himself.

They clothed themselves quickly and flash stepped into the gardens, where they found Ikazuchi standing alongside a second tall stallion, a pretty blue roan with his same midnight blue eyes.

"What is this?" he mused, staring at the new horse.

Torio and Shoma emerged from the far side of the horses.

"I don't know where he came from," Torio explained, "He only said that you are his master."

Byakuya's eyes widened.

"The spirit steeds have acknowledged him?" he mused, staring raptly at the lovely roan horse, "Orochi, this is…a very good development. You know of the connection between our family and the spirit steeds. With a strong partner at your side, you will be an even greater challenge for Kurohebi."

Orochi moved forward, approaching the roan and meeting his proud eyes questioningly.

"May I have your name?" he asked.

The horse's head bowed briefly and Orochi stiffened very slightly as a wispy, deep voice sounded in his mind.

 _I am Aratakitai…fresh hope or expectation. You may shorten my name to Kitai, if you wish. That is how I am called by my comrades._

Orochi extended a hand and brushed several stray hairs out of the stallion's dark, beautiful eyes.

"I am grateful for your arrival," he said approvingly, "You know what I am facing?"

 _You are to face the demon spirit Kurohebi in battle. The lord of the spirit herd felt that I was the best equipped to ensure that you would win this battle._

Orochi nodded.

"We will begin training tomorrow," he answered, "Kitai, are you comfortable with me riding you now?"

The horse gave a nod and stood quietly as Orochi mounted. Orochi looked down and found Byakuya looking up at him with deep pride in his eyes.

"Ikazuchi told me that the spirit steeds had sensed your need and were considering joining their strength with yours. I did not tell you because they were still deliberating. But that they have done this underscores everything I have been saying to you. You are going to succeed. You and this spirit beast won't just challenge Kurohebi. Transcendent though he is, you will be formidable against him. And you won't just defeat him, I believe you will _demolish_ him!"


End file.
